Windham legislators and area business owners gathered at Charlie Beiggs Restaurant in Windham last Tuesday morning for a legislative breakfast hosted by Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce. During the breakfast, local business owners, who are members of the chamber, talked with area representatives about business issues and concerns.

House Representatives Mark Bryant and Gary Plummer along with State Senator Bill Diamond answered questions and listened to opinions from the 35 members in attendance. Members voiced their concerns about various issues such as sales tax on recreational vehicles purchased outside of state and the growing tax burden suffered by both business owners and residents in the Lakes Region.

Sen. Diamond said that the legislative breakfast was “very effective” and commended the Chamber for putting together the forum. Diamond also suggested that the forum be held earlier next year.

“If we could have these earlier in the year, we could have more timely discussions of the bills” that affect area businesses, Diamond said. “This would provide a better opportunity to change bills if need be. Legislators are also much more available earlier on in the legislative session.”

Executive Director Barbara Clark organized the legislative breakfast along with Chamber President Kelly McKeil and Vice President Kelly Fowler. Clark said the legislative breakfast was intended to “better link the chamber members with their representatives.”

“The idea behind the Chamber is to network within a community to enhance business and civic groups,” Clark said. “We do business events like this as well as community events such as Sebago Days and our winter ‘Seasons Greetings.’ We have held legislative breakfasts in the past, but this is the first time we’ve done it in a long time.”

The breakfast event was part of a new strategic plan for the Chamber. Similar breakfast forums take place in other communities such as the monthly “Eggs and Issues” hosted by the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve done a five-year strategic plan to set goals, a mission, and to communicate and measure the results,” McKeil said. “We have always had very successful ‘business breaks’ (a monthly business networking event) and ribbon cuttings and that’s what people have zeroed in on. This has led some people to view the Chamber of Commerce as a social club. That is not how we want to be viewed. We want to be a viable resource for our business community to allow them to prosper.”

The Chamber will soon be holding its 5th annual golf tournament at Point Sebago Resort in Casco. A portion of the proceeds will help fund four $5,000 college scholarships sponsored by the Chamber. The Chamber is also gearing up to reopen its tourism information booths in Windham and Naples for the summer season.

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