Help your neighbors fight breast cancer

The summer is flying by, and that nip in the air each evening reminds us it’s not too soon to start planning for fall. Freeport resident Louise Neuts is certainly thinking ahead, well beyond the fall and into next year. She and her daughter Beth are scheduled to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington, D.C., to be held on May 3 and 4, 2014. The two-day, 39-mile walk will require a lot of training, and the two have already gotten started. Louise has lived in Freeport for more than 30 years, raising her two children there and now seeing her granddaughters grow up there, as well. Louise is an active member of the Freeport Lioness Lions, and daughter Beth works with autistic children at the Merrymeeting Center for Child Development in Bath while also studying for her master’s degree in education.

To participate in the event, mother and daughter must each raise $1,800, a sum Louise calls “huge.” Despite that, she chose to join the Avon Walk in part because she has never been to the nation’s capitol.

“Since I signed up for this event just a short time ago, my whole focus has changed. I cannot get over how many people have been touched by breast cancer – people that I know personally and still I had no idea. There are so many survivors out there, and so many that lost their battle, with some of those battles lasting 10 years. It is a horrible disease.”

A fundraising dinner for the two women will be held on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Masonic Lodge on Mallett Drive in Freeport. The menu will include pulled pork sandwiches, beans, coleslaw, potato salad and dessert. Said Louise in an email, “We are hoping to have 100 folks for that dinner, and in early spring we are planning a 5K race.” To learn more, call Louise at 712-5923, or email her at louise.neuts@martinspoint.org.

Bring your appetite

There will be a baked bean supper at the Harraseeket Grange No. 9, 13 Elm St. in Freeport, on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 5-6 p.m. Adults, $7; children under 10, $3; children 3 and under, free. Best of all, it’s all you can eat, including three kinds of home-baked beans, hot dogs, biscuits, brown bread, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, pies and beverages. And if you’re not dieting, you’re invited. For more information, call 865-3363.

Support your local artists

The Art Guild of Freeport is holding its fifth annual August Art Show & Sale on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Original oils, acrylics, watercolors, jewelry, and printed cards created by artists from Freeport and Yarmouth will be available for viewing and purchase. The event will be held on the lawn of the Freeport Cafe, 31 Route 1, Freeport. For information email pollydsmith@comcast.net or call her at 844-4934.

Volunteers are always welcome

The Friends of the Freeport Community Library is an all-volunteer group formed in 2011 that offers support to the library’s many activities. Since their inception, they have provided free museum passes for patrons, hosted a book sale preview night for members, advocated for the addition of a technology librarian at the town budget meeting and honored the dedicated staff of librarians with flowers during National Library Week. The group meets monthly and invites new members to join their efforts and attend the next meeting. For a meeting schedule, call the library at 865-3307.

Another opening, another ribbon-cutting

Continuing the long tradition of textile excellence synonymous with the label, “Made in Maine,” Maine Woolens, manufacturer of fine wool and cotton blankets and throws in Brunswick, is moving its retail store to Freeport. They use only American wool and employ 20 people in both Freeport and Brunswick. Owner Jo Miller is fully invested in manufacturing in Maine and looks forward to getting to know the Freeport community. Find out all about them at www.MaineWoolens.com

To celebrate their new venture, the Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m., at 124 Main St. (between Sherman’s Books and DeRosier’s Market). Light refreshments will be provided. Jo, Ray and a few staff members will be on hand to give tours of the premises and answer questions about their products. For more information, call 865-0755.

Building your business, one friend at a time

If you would like others to work at finding business for you, then you need the Business to Business Connection, the Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce’s own networking organization. It was designed specifically to increase business among its members by facilitating the exchange of referrals. Kudos to chamber member Harry Hopcroft of Technology Management Consulting for organizing this new group. According to chamber director Sande Updegraph, “Small business networking is not about meeting the greatest number of people one time, but having a cadre of people who know you well enough to feel comfortable sending others to you. For members of the Greater Freeport Chamber, this is the way to build that network.”

A preliminary organizational meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot St. Meetings will then be held every Thursday from 7:30 to 9 a.m.