Platz, Zinchuk to be honored

AUGUSTA — The Maine Development Foundation will host its 38th annual meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland.

This year, the event will feature two keynote speakers, Carlton Owen, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and Carolyn Lukensmeyer, executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. The event will also include the presentation of MDF’s annual statewide awards to businesses and organizations that are helping to shape Maine’s economy.

Owen will speak on “Positioning Maine’s Forest Sector in a Regional, Continental and Global Context of Change.” Lukensmeyer will make a presentation titled “Reviving Civility.”

The Champions of Economic Development Awards honor the efforts of organizations that are fostering education, engaging Maine’s population to grow the economy and supporting innovative ideas and initiatives to help grow a prosperous economy. Recipients include Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, Our Katahdin, Platz Associates and Sappi North America.

Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, will receive the Kenneth M. Curtis Award, given annually to an outstanding alumnus of the Leadership Maine program.