AUGUSTA – The Maine Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction was to celebrate its 25th anniversary at a banquet Saturday, July 31, at the Sheraton Inn, South Portland. A reception dinner and program were planned.

All past and present members invited to the event featuring a keynote presentation by Ival “Bud” Cianchette, co-founder of Maine’s largest construction company, Cianbro Corp.

According to Joyce Newman, chairwoman of the 25th anniversary event, more than 300 women have been members of one of the three state NAWIC chapters since the Maine Chapter was founded 25 years ago. Since then, the Maine Chapter has annually hosted Construction Expo of Maine, the largest construction trade show north of Boston. Proceeds from Expo have benefited more than 100 Maine students with more than $200,000 raised for students pursuing construction-related fields.

“We recognize that many of our original members have retired or moved on to other professions. However, we would like to include them in this celebration.”

NAWIC is an international association of women in construction with more than 5,000 members worldwide. The Maine chapter Web site address is www.nawicmaine.org.