Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce’s

Central Aroostook Business Summit

Best Western Caribou Inn

October 15, 2026

8:00 Welcome

LaNiece Sirois, Executive Director, Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce

8:05 Aroostook Rising

Kiersten Purington, President and CEO of Aroostook Partnership

8:15 In Good Company

The Power of Leading, Learning, and Building Together

Shanna Cox, Founder and Principal of Project Tipping Point

9:15 Practical Marketing Strategies

Christine Grillo, Director of Marketing and Communications at Northern Maine Community College

10:00 Break

10:15 HR Alphabet Soup

Margo Dyer, Director of Human Resources at Aroostook County Action Program

11:15 Increase Business with New Opportunities

Dana Delano, Maine APEX Accelerator Sr Procurement Counselor at Northern Maine Development Commission

11:45 Lunch Break, Hot Buffet Lunch

12:30 From Statehouse to Ballot Box: What Business Needs to Know

Curtis Picard, President and CEO of both the Retail Association of Maine and the New Hampshire Retail Association

1:30 Break

1:45 Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave: What Employers Need to Know

Reginald Parson, Deputy Director, Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Maine Department of Labor

2:15 More Hats. Same 24 Hours.

Working Smarter with ChatGPT

Johanna Johnston, Executive Director of the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation

3:00 Closing remarks

Register below.