What is the
Central Aroostook
Chamber of
Commerce?
by Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce
The Presque Isle merchants formed an organization in 1916 to
discuss the issues that faced local merchants and to raise funds
to benefit the community.
The minutes from this organization covered everything from
days that businesses would be closed to building the Post Office
and a cold storage facility.
In 1947, the members of that group decided to form a Chamber
of Commerce. The mission is fundamentally the same today as
it was then. As the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce, they
were only interested in Presque Isle prosperity.
Through the years, the Chamber grew to include surrounding
communities. In 2011, recognizing that the Chamber served
a greater area than Presque Isle and that the Presque Isle
Area Chamber of Commerce did not fully identify the area
served, the Board of Directors decided to change the name to
Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce. At that time, the
communities served included Ashland, Blaine, Chapman, Castle
Hill, Mapleton, Easton, Presque Isle, Washburn, Masardis,
OxBow, Portage Lake, Westfield, and Mars Hill.
In 2014, Caribou Council decided to eliminate funding for the
Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce. The Board asked if we,
the Central Aroostook Chamber would incorporate the Caribou
area businesses in their service area. We determined that we
could, and contracted with the Caribou Executive Director to
work with us. The Executive Director stayed with us for about
four months before moving to Florida.
In 2015, Central Aroostook Chamber expanded to include
Caribou, Westmanland, Perham, Stockholm, New Sweden,
Connor, Wade and Woodland.
We focus on supporting our businesses through advertising,
organizing events and sharing legislative, taxation and other
information that could affect their business and attracting
people to the area.
For over 100 years the Merchants Association and now the
Chamber have gathered people together on a monthly basis,
or more frequently, to discuss business related topics and work
to solve concerns. With continued support of area businesses
and organizations, the function of this organization will help
maintain the quality of life we enjoy in Aroostook County.
WINTER 2018
73