PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: On weekdays, I usually follow the philosophy laid out by Ben Franklin in his quote, “early to bed, early to rise.” However, I broke my own rule of being in bed by 9 p.m. this week to watch Monday Night Football. Not just any game, mind you, but one that put a notch in the history books.

The quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees (whom I consider one of the “good guys” in the NFL) broke a total yards passing record that has been untouched since 1984. He did it in style, too. With 2 minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, Drew threw an 11-yard touchdown pass, breaking the old record by four yards.

The crowd, and his teammates, went wild.

But not Drew Brees. As the celebration went on, you could tell he was becoming more and more humbled by this accomplishment. In the locker room, when he was asked to say a few words to the team, there wasn’t an “I” phrase to be found. It was about team, everyone from assistant coaches to the folks that bring in the supplies and rub down the new footballs.

He also thanked the city of New Orleans and the fans for sticking with the Saints organization. Without the contributions of many, he said time and again, the success of one could not have happened.

How down to earth and refreshing is that? No wonder Drew is acknowledged league-wide as a leader by teammates, coaches and opponents alike.

I can tell you I buy into the theme that very few people, if any, make it to the top of their chosen ladder by themselves. It takes an entire team to get one person to the top. I think back to the successes in my own life, and, without exception, I can think of people that have helped and mentored me all along the way.

A few weeks ago, I heard a quote from a political candidate, Elizabeth Warren. She stated, “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for … Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”

I am not sure what party Warren is associated with, and to be honest, I really don’t care. She spoke some pretty clear truths that we don’t always think about as a society or members of the business community. And when you get right down to it, she’s echoing the same theme we’ve already talked about in this column: nobody gets to the top by themselves.

But call me a little sensitive when I stand up for the business community and state, “You don’t have to worry about the vast majority of businesses giving back to their communities; they do but they just don’t brag about it.”

This holiday season, millions of dollars — yes, millions — have been donated to hundreds — maybe even thousands — of nonprofit organizations, schools, clubs, associations and families in need. Thousands of citizens, with the blessing of their employers, donated their time and energy by ringing bells, collecting and sorting food, mentoring kids, coaching sports, attending field trips, serving on volunteer boards of directors, and educating donors.

With a resounding, “We care,” our Midcoast business community has stepped up to the plate time and time again, year after year. And maybe, just maybe, we don’t feel the need to make speeches and brag about it.

As a major election year approaches, for both state and federal representatives, I look forward to walking with candidates from all parties through the Mid-coast. As in the last election cycle, I will invite every candidate to visit our area — to see and meet firsthand Mid-coast people, businesses and supporting institutions.

I am positive that it will not take many visits before the cohesiveness in our region will come through, and at the end of the day, they will find there is not a better business community team in the state of Maine than the Mid-coast.

The chamber proudly serves businesses in the following communities: Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Brunswick, Dresden, Edgecomb, Georgetown, Harpswell, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath, Westport Island, Wiscasset and Woolwich.

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