The Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber Annual Awards Dinner presented by Clark Insurance and One River CPAs was held this past Friday, March 8, at St. John’s Community Center. There were over 140 attendees as we honored eight incredible business leaders in a variety of categories. There was laughter, handshakes, back slapping, and great food and drink (provided by Cook’s Lobster & Ale House).
Each award winner received a custom-made, live-edge cutting board, created by the incomparable David Barber of Forwood Thinking. Jeff Morris of The Pierce Studio got all of the photographs for the night (that you will see on our social media channels all month long). We premiered eight videos that evening, created by Sturdy Production, our local videography team that brings professionalism and humor to all of its projects. Cellar Door Winery provided wine that was given away as centerpiece prizes, and everyone had a fun evening. Thank you to our event sponsors: One River CPAs, Clark Insurance, Cellar Door Winery and Wilcox Wellness & Fitness.
In terms of the chamber announcements of the night, we introduced our 2024 Cornerstone Members, which are businesses that join the chamber at a special higher rate, but in turn, they are tied to every event the chamber holds for the calendar year. There are three tiers to the program, with the top level earning industry exclusivity at that level. The 2024 Cornerstone list is as follows:
• Priority Real Estate – Cornerstone Commercial Real Estate Member.
• Mid Coast-Parkview Health/MaineHealth – Cornerstone Healthcare Member.
• Bath Savings Institution – Cornerstone Baking Member.
• Darling’s Brunswick Ford – Cornerstone Automotive Dealership Member.
• Brickyard Hollow – Chamber Partner.
• Riley Insurance – Chamber Partner.
• Molnlycke – Chamber Partner.
• Cook’s Lobster & Ale House – Chamber Partner.
• Sitelines – Chamber Supporter.
• Lajoie Brothers – Chamber Supporter.
• The Holy Donut – Chamber Supporter.
Lastly, the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber announced a new management agreement to work with the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce to combine efforts on programs and work on partnering the regions. More details on that next week.
With that, the night is centered around the award winners. This year, our new business of the year winner was a nominee with an incredible story. Find out more about Soft Corner Midwifery below and its meteoric rise from concept to birth center in just four short years. Also, check out their video on the BBRC YouTube channel where all the winner videos will appear over the next few weeks. Congrats to Morgan and her team!
Soft Corner Midwifery and Morgan Miller – 2024 Excellence in Entrepreneurship
The Excellence in Entrepreneurship award is to recognize a local business that has either begun or expanded in the past three years and that has impacted the world in a positive way. It often goes to brand new businesses, and this year, we’re proud to honor one of our newer businesses in the region whose specialty happens to be one of the oldest practices in the world, which is Soft Corner Midwifery in Bath.
Morgan Miller began her business on Feb. 21, 2020. By June, while the world was coming to terms with a worldwide pandemic, she had hired an assistant midwife and rented a space in Cape Elizabeth. By September, just six months after starting the business, Morgan moved the practice to Bath and built out a space inside Union + Co with two assistant midwives. The steady growth continued for the next three years, and they opened their birthing center at 94 Richardson St. in Bath in September 2023 with three midwives, two assistant midwives, one nutritionist, one lactation consultant, one pelvic floor physical therapist and one clinical administrator. Since then, Soft Corner has added an acupuncturist, another lactation consultant, a postpartum specialist and a childbirth education instructor.
Design was a big part of Morgan’s career before opening the midwifery, and you can see the expertise and thought put into building a space that is warm and soothing for the parents. Morgan, with the help of partner Joshua Langlais, took a vision for the center and manifested it into reality. Morgan credits Joshua as being a steadfast supporter, sounding board and the one who “keeps her nourished.”
The services provided come directly from the core belief that they state as: “At our core, we value autonomy, justice, and equity. Soft Corner Midwifery supports all family constellations in a safe and nonjudgmental space. We believe in providing empowering reproductive care while fostering intuition and self-advocacy.”
Soft Corner Midwifery uses a current and evidence-based approach, keeping you informed and confident throughout your decision-making process. They offer everything from advanced testing — which includes labs, ultrasounds and specialty testing — to holistic gynecology, pregnancy care, the birthing center, and postpartum and newborn care. It’s an individualized holistic approach to help each family reach its goals.
Morgan will tell you she couldn’t do it without the people around her, as she is always crediting her colleagues for being the incredible caregivers that make this dream a reality. However, this journey never would have begun if Morgan didn’t have the vision, strength and belief in her concept to take that initial leap. Although it all moved a bit faster than she had originally anticipated, what has resulted has been the first birthing center in Bath, which was manifested over four years from concept to a thriving center for women’s care and a place where families begin their next chapters.
Giving people options for their most personal needs makes our region more inclusive. Soft Corner Midwifery is a shining example of seeing a need in the community and creating a solution. The empathetic service helps women and families in a time of need and has created place of comfort that will continue to grow and evolve as the needs of the community members change. Your impact on our region is tangible and welcomed, congratulations on the success and thank you for the service you provide.
Congratulations to Soft Corner Midwifery, Morgan Miller and her team on being named the BBRC’s 2024 Excellence in Entrepreneurship award winner.
Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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