Momentum Aroostook Past Events

Momentum Aroostook, along with the Friends of Central Aroostook Humane Society, and The Crow's Nest sponsored the second annual Toast for the Animals. OVer a hundred people came out on a rainy night to the Crow's Nest to sample and learn about different wines and food pairings, browse and bid on tons of exciting auction items, and network with other guests. Over $5500 was raised for the CAHS!!

A number of families stopped out to Putnam's farm to join us in one of our more popular family events. The Putnams took us on a nice trip through the fields and woods on the horse and wagon and stopped for the kids to hunt for their pumpkins and grab some pictures on the horses. Then back to the farm for hot chocolate, apple cider, and popcorn! The rain even held off!

September 29th, 2011 Momentum Aroostook Ladies Night! Cosmos and Conversation

A number of ladies showed up with their best girlfriends, business cards, and their thirsts. They engaged in some great conversation and networking amidst good food and drink. Thanks to everyone that came out.

Our latest lunch was held on September 9th at Cafe Sorpreso in downtown Presque Isle. Momentum Aroostook lunches are informal opportunites to meet with other members while enjoying a nice lunch. Check out their website for information and menu.

Our latest appy hour turned out to be happy hours for some people. It was held at The Crow's Nest in Presque Isle on August 18th. These after hour events are great opportunities to get out and meet with other members in a very informal manner. Hope to see you at the next one in September.

It is still summer, so we held our latest onthly networking lunch at the Presque Isle Country Club and gave people an opportunity to eat out on the deck and enjoy a summer afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and a great lunch with about 10 Momentum members. Thanks to those who came out!

Here is the menu in case you want to check it out someday.

Since it is summer, we held our monthly networking lunch at Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle and put out the invite to the whole family. About 25 adults and what seemed like hundreds of kids came out to enjoy some pizza, chips, drinks, and if for the lucky kids, some dessert.

June 25th, 2011 Momentum Aroostook Matinee sponsored by Willette's Automotive

Willette's Automotive and Momentum Aroostook sponsored another Momentum Matinee on June 25th, 2011. The Braden Theater once again allowed an early showing of the movie for Momentum members. Due to the generous support of Willette's Automotive, the cost was only $2.00 per person! Almost 100 people came out and enjoyed the latest Pixar movie, Cars 2!

We ended up getting a decent day to sit out on the patio at the Irish Setter Pub in Presque Isle for our latest monthly netwrking happy hour. Thanks to those that came out.

Saturday Morning Mountain Biking/BBQ sponsored by Barresi Financial. Nordic Heritage Sports Center Saturday June 11th, 2011 9:30AM to 01:00PM

Momentum Aroostook and Barresi Financial offered a great way to get outdoors, get some exercise, and have some fun. Jason and Renee Ennis helped lead a mountain bike ride at the Nordic Heritage Sports Center. We had riders of all abilities attend and many people brought out the kids and did some hikes or smaller rides. Barresi Financial sponsored a barbecue after the event and provided a great meal on a nice sunny day. Thanks to all that came out.

Sunday June 5th 2011 Momentum Aroostook Paintball: Thunder Valley Nitro Paint Park

Momentum Aroostook held our first ever paint ball day and what a great time everyone had. A big thanks to Thunder Valley paintball for making everything so easy. If you are looking for a great afternoon adventure or a corporate outing, you should definetly contact them to set up the date. Check out their website for all the details.

Momentum Aroostook hopes to offer another opportunity in the fall so stay tuned for details. Check out Facebook for all the pictures.

Momentum Aroostook held it's latest monthly real life networking lunch at the Oriental Pearl on June 3rd. These lunches are informal gatherings and a great opportunity for people to get to know people better. Thanks to those that came out!

Congratulations to Jessica Jewell and Scott Galbiati of Northern Maine Distilling Co (Twenty 2 Vodka) for winning the Entrepreneur of the Year 2011!

Momentum Aroostook and LEADers Encourging Aroostook Development once again held the Entrepreneur of the Year award ceremony with a wine pairing and dinner held at the Edmunds Conference Center at the Northern Maine Community College.

The theme this year was “Around the World”. We enjoyed a 7-course culinary experience paired with different beverages as we celebrated 14 nominees for the 2011 Aroostook County Entrepreneur Award.

Momentum changed up its normal happy hour with the first ever Momentum Story Slam event on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at Copper’s Lounge in Presque Isle. Here was the idea: just show up, throw your name into a hat, and then when it’s your turn, you have 5 minutes to tell your story. The theme for this Story Slam was Life in The County. If you just want to kick back and enjoy the storytelling, you can do that, too. Audience members will vote for their favorite story. The winner gets a $50 cash prize and bragging rights, but everyone gets a night to remember. Congratulations to Andy Churchill for winning the first ever Momentum Aroostook Story Slam! We hope to have a video soon. Thanks to the the Northeastland for providing the free appetizers.

The fourth Young Professtional Institute came to an end on May 18th, 2011with its traditional press conference, etiquette dinner, and award ceremony. YPI is sponsored by Momentum Aroostook, MMG Insurance, and UMPI and is an eight week course held at UMPI and facilitated by local community leaders. Particiapants are sponsored by their employers and undertake class room exercises to assist in their growth as young professionals and young leaders. This year, the YPI participants recieved an extra bonus and helped plan and facilitate in the Maine Young Professional Exchange in Orono. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2011:

Momentum Aroostook took the lead on planning an event with statewide ramifications and the potential for a re-occuring event for years to come. Eighteen young professionals from Aroostook County took a Cyr bus to Orono to meet with other young professionals from central and southern Maine. This event was held in collaboration with the Realize Maine network, Fushion Bangor, and a variety of local businesses. Lead sponsor was Bangor Savings Bank and many others also contributed to the event. Former Governor Angus King gave the introduction speech via Skype.

Click here for the press release and a list of sponsors! Click here for the Bangor Daily News article.

Momentum's own Shawn Cunningham covered the entire event. Click here for the WAGM story!

A large group of members including a few new people met up at Rosellas for a great lunch and a chance to network with other "young" people of Aroostook County. Momentum Aroostook offers monthly lunches all year as great opportunities to meet up with other members. We rotate the restaurants every month as well. Please come out and visit with us. If you are shy, bring a friend!

April 28th, 2011 Momentum Aroostook After Hours Social Networking in Real Life

Momentum Aroostook held our latest happy hour event at the Crow Bar at the Crow's Nest in Presque Isle. Over 20 memebrs stopped by for a drink and to network with other Momentum Aroostook members! Momentum Aroostook offers monthly happy hours (as well as lunches) to give members and opportunity to get out a meet people. Hope to see you soon at a future event!

Momentum held it's first Spring Break weekend with a few great events that helped fill up the weekend. Many made it to out to take advantage of these opportunities.

The weekend started with a French Cuisine cooking demo which took place at the Nordic Heritage Sports Center in Presque Isle/Fort Fairfield. Members learned how to prepare crepes – Martin Puckett, who trained as a chef at Washington County Technical College in Calais, demonstrated how to cook two savory crepes and two sweet crepes. This is the first time we have offered this type of an event and hope to offer another one in the future.

April 16th, 2011 Momentum Matinee at the Braden Sponsored by Bemis & Rossignol Law Office

The weekend continued with one of our more popular events, a Momentum Matinee at the Braden Theater. Once again Bemis & Rossignol Attorneys at Law stepped up to sponsor the event and togther with Momentum Aroostook, offered the family movie "Rio" for the reduced price of $3 per ticket for Momentum members. If you missed it, the movie was pretty good so check it out at the Braden Theater!

April 16th, 2011Momentum Spring Barbecue Saturday Sponsored by ACE Rent A Car

A large group finsihed up the Momentum weekend with a family barbecue, sponsored by ACE Rent A Car, located in the airport terminal or at 64 Industrial St. in Presque Isle. Click here for ACE's website

Parents and kids enjoyed a fun and relaxing evening, even though the weather was a bit cold. Of course we had the whole inside of the picturesque Nordic Heritage Center. ! Thanks to John Harvell of Ace Rent A Car for sponsoring this event.

April 1st, 2011 Momentum Aroostook and Freddy P's Opening Day/Cornhole Tournament

Well the weather sucked, the Red Sox lost, but the Cornhole was legendary. Six teams competed for the title of Fisst Momentum Aroostook Cornhole Champion and AJ Coulkey and Brent Mosher walked away with the title by cruising through the double elimination tournament without one loss! Freddy P's had the game on all their 50" plasmas and Momentum Aroostook provided some "Fenway Franks" to enjoy during the game.

With a lovely twist of fate, it just so happened that our monthly happy hour fell on St. Patrick's Day so we decided to hang out but at the Irish Setter Pub in Presque Isle. In honor of the holiday we started the celebration a half hour early at 4:00. Not sure how many Momentum members showed up as the place was packed but I hope everyone got a chance to celebrate the day!

March is the time for Shamrock shakes, wearing green, and celebrating the luck of the Irish. With all that in mind, Momentum Aroostook sponsored our second annual St. Patrick's Day Party at Freddy P's in downtown Presque Isle.

Another big crowd joined us for the live band, Irish appetizers, and LOTS of Irish drinks. We hope to have pictures soon.

A good group came to the Mai Tai restaurant in downtown Presque Isle to enjoy a lunch with Momentum Aroostook members. These lunches are very informal ways to grab a bite while potentially meeting new people or enjoying conversations with people you already know.

Momentum Aroostook held it's latest after hours networking event at Coppers Lounge in downtown Presque Isle. These are great opportunities to meet with other residents of Aroostook County and a chance to make some valuable connections.

We held our latest networking lunch at Gram Russo's Italian Restaurant at the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center on February 11th. About fifteen people came to network with others and enjoy a nice lunch.

We held our first happy hour of the year at The Crow's Nest. About 10 members braved the cold to join us for a drink, snack, and some lively converstation. Thanks to those who ventured out. Momentum Aroostook provides lunches on the first friday of every month and happy hours on the third Thursday of every month. This are informal real social networking opportunites (unlike Facebook). Great opportunity to get out and meet new people (and some old ones) and make some connections.

Momentum Aroostook held it's first networking lunch of 2011 at the Oriental Pearl in Presque Isle. About 15 people, including some new faces, stopped by to grab lunch and meet with other members of Momentum Aroostook in an informal setting. Thanks to those who came out.

Momentum Aroostook presented a special film showing for its members and families just in time for the holidays.

A “Holiday Matinee with Momentum” was held at the Braden Theater on Saturday, Dec. 4. Movie-goers were able to enjoy a holiday film favorite, The Polar Express, on the big screen for just $1 per ticket. About 70 people came out to spend some family time together with this heartwarming film and get into the holiday spirit. Thanks to the Braden Theater for allowing us to use the theater.

Momentum Aroostook sponsored a Wine Tasting and Silent Auction with the proceeds going to benefit the Central Aroostook Humane Society. This event was well attended, over 100 people, and was held at Freddy P's in downtown Presque Isle. All wines were provided by Winterport Winery, a Maine based company!. Thanks to all those who came out to make this event a huge success!

A number of members, including some new faces, joined us at our our monthly lunch at The Crow's Nest. Some got to check out the new restaurant for the first time, sounds like we all had a great lunch, and it was a great opportunity to meet with other like minded Momentum members! Here is the menu for The Crows Nest. Their grand opening and new menu is November 9th.

Unless you have been living in a cave, you have probably heard that a new restaurant and bar has opened in the old Slopes building. We held our latest happy hour at The Crows Nest on Thursday October 21st and based on the attendance, some of you must still be living in a cave. The few of us that did show up got to check out the new restaurant, grab a beverage of choice, and meet with a few other Momentum Aroostook members.

Momentum Aroostook Kids held their first “Pool Party” our at the Presque Isle indoor pool. They had a birthday like party with cake and refreshments after the swim and kids and adults had a chance to enjoy a small taste of summer even if it was only 40 degrees outside.

Momentum Aroostook partnered with the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the "not so scary" Haunted Kinder Walk, which was a great family day at Aroostook State Park. The rain forced us inside of the Presque Isle Snow Mobile Club, but the kids didn't seem to mind. There were numerous games and activities such as pumpkin painting, face painting, boat rides, frisbee golf, ring toss, hopscotch, and bean bag toss.

We held our Pumpkin Patch Play Date on Saturday, October 9th, 2010. Once again the Ayer Family donated their time and farm to allow us to come out and have some great fall fun. There were pumpkins, candy apples, hot chocolate, games, contests and treats.

October 5th, 2010 Meet and Greet with Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Shawn Moody

Shawn Moody stopped by the area and took the opportunity to meet with some of our Momentum Aroostook members. They met at the Airport in Presque Isle on Tuesday October 5th, 2010. ACE Rental Car provided donuts and coffee for the members that attended.

About a dozen members showed up for our latest monthly networking lunch. These are informal gatherings of members to eat lunch and meet with other people. We held this month's lunch at Koko's Cafe in the Aroostook Centre Mall. Kokos is a newer restaurant located just around the corner from the food court and it has it's own table seating area. Here is the menu. Lunch was great and it was a great opportunity to support a new local business and meet with other Momentum members.

We had a huge turnout for our Octoberfest event Saturday night at Freddy P's! It was a great evening with good food, good drinks, a great band , GREAT bartender costumes, and some good company.The event was such a huge success that Freddy P's donated $250 of the proceeds to Momentum Aroostook, which we can use for future events!

For those of you who wondered why we had an Octoberfest party in September, it was the same weekend as the real Octoberfest in Munich Germany, so there. These pictures are a bit blurry, but they looked clear to us at the time.

Momentum Aroostook teamed up with Aroostook Kids to offer a great family friendly program. On September 25th, Aroostook Kids held a harvest themed Story Time, at the Turner Library in Presque Isle. There were stories, crafts, drinks and snacks. Around 15 kids came out to enjoy the story.

Saw some new faces at our latest happy hour networking opportunity. Happy Hours are informal gatherings of members to share a beverage and meet other young people from the County. Hope to see you there! Bring a friend!

Momentum Aroostook offered our second opportunity for its members to come out with one of the COngressional candidates. This time it was, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, the incumbent candidate running for U.S. Congress, Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

A few memebrs joined us at Café Sorpreso in downtown Presque Isle to talk with Mike and find out more about some of the issues facing Maine.

Aroostook Kids recently held theri last summer daytime event. They met up to pick apples at The Kings Gardener. Randy Martin opened up early to give them an early bird, private tour of the apple orchard, and let the kids pick apples and even plums.

Randy grows 24 varieties of apples and they are $15/bushel self picked or $20 ready picked. 1/2 bushels, pecks and 1/2 pecks also available. He also has a large selection of fall produce available for sale at the nursery, including but not limited to: cabbage, onions, carrots, turnip, pears, plums, pumpkins, squash and gourds.

Checkout the Aroostook Kids webpage for more information on future events.

A few members came out on another beautiful summer afternoon for our latest happy hour networking opportunity at Freddy P's in downtown Presque Isle. These are informal gatherings of members to share a beverage and meet other young people from the County. We hope to see more people at our future happy hours.

Our latest monthly lunch was held at the Presque Isle Country Club. A good crowd took the short drive and got a nice afternoon to sit out on the deck (although we sat inside), enjoy their lunch, and meet with other members. Check out the menu. Click here for more information on the country club.

A handful of members stopped by Coppers lounge for our latest social networking opportunity.

For our latest networking lunch we shook it up a bit. A group of people came to lunch at Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle on a hot Friday afternoon. Thanks to the Presque Isle Parks and Rec department for letting us use the kitchen area at the back of the park. Thanks to John Harvell and Ace Rental Car who sponsored the event and brought in pizza, snacks and dessert.

We had a successful Meet & Greet with Jason Levesque, who is running for U.S. Congress for Maine's 2nd Congressional district on Saturday, June 26th. Great discussion on the political landscape and what's going on in Aroostook County. Thanks to Barresi Benefits Group for providing the coffee and donuts. Thanks to Jason for taking the time to meet with us. It was a great opportunity to have a one on one conversation with the candidate. Jason, who is 35, was very interested in what groups like Momentum Aroostook can do to make living in Maine more enjoyable. More photos on Facebook.

Unfortunately there was a mix up with the field (it was under repair) and we had to cancel this event. Our apologies to all that were planning to attend. We hope to offer this event again this fall. Stay tuned.

About 15 members joined us at Coppers Lounge in downtown Presque Isle for our Momentum After Hours. Thanks to Coppers for the free wings and yummy fish tacos!

Members met at Governor's Restaurant in Presque Isle for our monthly networking lunch. As always these lunches are informal gatherings that allow you to enjoy your lunch while meeting and talking to other Momentum members. For this lunch, we welcomed Presque Isle City Councilors Calvin Hall and Jennifer Trombley who gave us some information on serving on the City Council and gave their best pitch to try and entice Momentum members to consider serving. Momentum would like to thank them for taking time out of their schedule to have lunch with us.

LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development and Momentum Aroostook held a wine tasting and dinner to celebrate the Entrepreneur of the Year. This well attended meeting was a great opportunity to network with other business professionals, enjoy a great meal, enjoy and hear about a variety of wines, and hear the stories of 7 incredible local entrepreneurs! Congratulations to Troy Haney for winning the honor of 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year. It was a great evening! Click Here to see the flyer.

Our busy month of May continued with the Bemis and Rossignol LLC " Matinee with Momentum". A number of Momentum memebers and their families met at the Braden Theater in downtown Presque Isle for Shrek Forever After! This was a special matinee that started at 11:00 AM and only cost $3 per person! Thanks for coming out on a beautiful Sunday morning! Click Here to see the flyer. Thanks again to Bemis and Rossignol LLC for sponsoring this event and to the Braden for offering the special screening!

Our last Momentum After Hours was held at Freddy P's in downtown Presque Isle on Thursday, May 20th. Momentum After Hours are informal gatherings with an opportunity to meet and network with other Aroostook County people. Hope to see you there.

Momentum Aroostook members Jason and Renee Ennis lead a group through the trails at the Nordic Heritage Center on Saturday May 8th, 2010. It was a great opportunity to check out a local treasure and get some exercise, as well as have a little fun. If you haven't checked out the mountain bike trails yet, click the Trail Map.

Twenty two members showed up for our monthly lunch at Rosella's. They did a fantasic job getting all the food and making sure everyone got out on time. It was great to see some of the regulars but also some new faces. Thanks to those who attended. If you haven't checked out Rosellas, here is their menu.

We had an extremely great evening at Freddy P’s with over 50 members turning out for some good food, drinks, and lively conversation. Check out the pictures on Facebook.

Momentum Aroostook, MMG Insurance and the University of Maine at Presque Isle are teaming up for the third year in a row to provide the area’s young professionals with a one-of-a-kind leadership development opportunity. Click on the link for more information. Click Here for more info.

February 9th, 2010: Meet and Greet with Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Paul LePage.

About 15 members showed up at UMPI to hear Paul LePage give us his vision of the future of Maine. This looks to be an exciting and busy political year and Momentum Aroostook hopes to host more of these events so that our members have an opportunity to learn about the candidates and share thier concerns/ideas.

We had a great turnout for our monthly networking lunch held at Cafe Sorpreso. These lunches are offered every month so look out for the next opportunity in March.

A number of members joined us at the Oriental Pearl for a lesson on how to order and eat sushi by Momentum member Rachel Rice. Some were experts, others first timers but all learned a bit more and had a good time and some great food!