Welcome, welcome, welcome to both the town of Hebron and the town of Mechanic Falls, our newest members of the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce. Municipal support is critically important and we appreciate the willingness of towns during tough budget discussions to show they support the largest business organization in Western Maine.

It was a great opening weekend for Oxford Plains Speedway and a huge crowd. Congratulations to Mike Mayberry and his staff for putting on a first rate show this past weekend with the American Canadian Tour and the Pro All-Star Series collaborating on two big 150-lap races. We’re planning on working closely with the plains to help get more businesses involved in networking with our largest event venue in the entire region.

I attended a meeting of the Androscoggin-Oxford-Coos Counties Passenger Rail Coalition last week to talk about the continued effort to bring a passenger rail to Western Maine and beyond. The key is getting the rail line to get to Auburn from Portland first, and then on to our area and up through Bethel. We are planning a Rail Rally in September from the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn to ramp up advocacy for this project. I’ll keep everyone posted.

A great tradition has returned, the annual Oxford Hills Night at the Portland Sea Dogs. This year’s game is on Thursday, July 23, against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at 7 p.m. from beautiful Hadlock Field in Portland. The chamber will offer discounted tickets shortly, a real family treat, and speaking of treats, we’ll also have something special for everyone who buys a seat. Don’t miss this great night of baseball.

And this weekend the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the 14^thannual Oxford Hills Home Show with the big three – Twin Town Homes, Turnkey Homes of Maine and Schiavi Custom Builders. These three partners and competitors, have been working collaboratively since 2001 to bring potential home buyers from all over New England to what is not only the largest home show in New England, but also the largest group of manufactured housing builders in one area in New England. They will have nearly 40 homes on display that are completely furnished.

Returning as the event’s signature sponsor for the fifth consecutive year is Norway Savings Bank. The bank will have loan officers at all three locations each day to assist potential buyers with any financing and home loan questions. This is a huge event for our Oxford Hills and the chamber of commerce is extremely proud to be a part of it once again.

We’re all about promoting Oxford Hills and I’ll see you next week.