APP receives funds

    With a pledge of $50,000, F.A. Peabody Company announced that it is recommitting its financial investment in the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP), a private-public economic development partnership.     “It is crucial that northern Maine build an economic development infrastructure driven by the private sector yet supported by the public sector on a long-term basis,” said Christopher B. Anderson, president of F.A. Peabody Company, an 81-year-old family-owned business. Anderson points to APP’s success in helping guide the growth of such companies as I Care Pharmacy, Connect North America, and Synergy Solutions to Aroostook County as well as retention driven efforts with companies such as DFAS Limestone, ATX, National Starch and Taxware.
    “APP has the process in place to maximize regional opportunities and address economic weaknesses such as out-migration,” said Anderson, who sits on the organization’s Board of Directors.
    Acknowledging F.A. Peabody’s investment, Larry Shaw, chairperson of APP, stressed the importance of a regional approach to economic development that involves private sector investment and thanked Houlton based F.A. Peabody for being one of the founding companies to make the decision to reinvest in APP.
    “We strongly believe that economic development must continue to grow as a collaborative process. It is important that APP’s strategy be a regional, County-wide process in order to leverage funding, capitalize on innovation, and fully utilize the talents of the people in northern Maine,” said Shaw.
    F.A. Peabody was first incorporated in 1927, providing property/casualty insurance out of a small office in Houlton. The insurance operation now provides service from other Maine locations in Presque Isle, Caribou, Mars Hill, Sherman, Lincoln and Hampden. Today, the F.A. Peabody has grown to over 70 employs including, a statewide, third party administration firm called FAPCO Administration, and a broadband Internet service, Pioneer Wireless Network, serving the needs of Eastern and Northern Maine from Fort Kent to Machias.
    Dedicated to results-oriented economic development of Aroostook County, APP actively recruits business to northern Maine while also responding to requests for information from individual firms, site location consultants, the state of Maine, and statewide economic development agencies.