WHEREAS, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal grant program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education and careers; and

WHEREAS, GEAR UP Maine was founded in 1998, and since then has helped prepare over 29,000 students to pursue education and career pathways they otherwise may not have been able to; and

WHEREAS, manufacturing is essential to the economic vitality of Maine, supporting nearly 1,900 businesses, employing over 56,000 people, and contributing billions of dollars annually to the state's economy; and

WHEREAS, Maine manufacturers create a diverse array of products, from precision aerospace components, advanced composites, and marine vessels to food, beverages, and forest products, strengthening both our local communities and our national economy; and

WHEREAS, Farm and Sea to School programs enrich the connection communities have with their local food producers by bringing fresh, locally produced and harvested food into schools throughout Maine; and

WHEREAS, Farm and Sea to School programs benefit both our students and food producers by increasing fresh, whole food consumption and improving health outcomes while also increasing revenue and customer base for Maine food producers; and

Career and Technical Education programs, or CTEs, equip young people with skills and hands-on experience to make sure they can get good-paying jobs and have rewarding, life-long careers.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Despite the important role that CTEs play in the lives of young people and in building a skilled workforce to strengthen our economy, for decades, Maine just didn't modernize or expand these workforce training programs or even provide them with modern, appropriate equipment.

Maine needs more plumbers, more electricians, more truck drivers -- more people overall in the trades -- and that's why I've worked so hard to make historic investments in career and technical education centers throughout my career. In fact, back when I was attorney general, I settled a case with Bath Fitter Company and used the funds from that settlement to begin new plumbing programs at four different Maine high schools. And when I became governor, I continued to make investments in our CTE system so it can serve more students with better equipment.

Through my Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, we've invested $20 million -- federal funds -- to expand career and technical education centers -- the first meaningful investment in decades. That included $4.5 million distributed to 23 different CTE programs to purchase and upgrade equipment so that Maine students are ready for careers in today's highly skilled industries.

Sanford Regional Technical Center used their grant of nearly $117,000 to purchase equipment for their Engineering Architectural Design and Machine Tool programs, among other things. The Sanford School Department was also awarded $321,000 Pre-K expansion grant through My Jobs Plan that funded the construction of three new Pre-K classrooms at Sanford schools and funded the expansion of the Pre-K program at the Sanford CTE from half-day to full-day.

Well, this past week, I visited the Sanford CTE to see how students are doing using the equipment that our investments helped make happen. I had snacks prepared by the culinary arts students as we toured the pre-K learning and early childhood education classrooms. I practiced driving a police car with law enforcement students on a new driving simulator that was paid for by the job plan funds. A really remarkable instrument.

And I visited with students who were learning the building trades like plumbing and electrical, and carpentry, as they worked building a house. I visited the business program, and the video production program, and learned how many kids at the CTE there are earning credits towards college in these programs. I ended the tour by speaking with students in STEM classes, studying things like advanced technology.

I'm so excited to watch as the students I met this week graduate from Sanford Regional Tech and put their new skills to use in good-paying jobs that will make rewarding careers for them and that will benefit our economy overall.

I'm very proud of those students in Sanford and from the area schools, and I'm proud of the nearly 11,000 students at the CTEs--a record high. That's up from 8,000 seven years ago.

My administration will keep doing everything we can to support students of any age to earn the credits and credentials, and certifications, or college degrees they need to succeed in our state and make Maine the best state to live, work, and raise a family.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s historic exhibition hall, the Maine Building, was constructed in 1925 on the Avenue of States at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds, home of The Big E, in West Springfield, Massachusetts, to showcase the best of Maine to fairgoers from across the Northeast and beyond; and

WHEREAS, the Maine Needham was first introduced in 1872 by John Seavey, owner of the confectionary Seavey’s Sweets, which is rumored to have been located in either Auburn or Portland at the time; and

WHEREAS, named after a popular preacher of that era, George C. Needham, the Needham candy consists of a mashed potato center surrounded by coconut and chocolate; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has a rich heritage of craftsmanship, creativity, and innovation that is reflected in the work of its makers, artisans, artists, builders, growers, designers, and entrepreneurs who use their hands, minds, and hearts to produce goods that enrich our communities and economy; and

WHEREAS, makers contribute significantly to Maine's cultural identity and small business economy, fostering innovation, sustainability, and self-reliance, and today, Maine-made is synonymous with quality; and

WHEREAS, food is one of Maine’s most valuable resources and is essential for the health and nutrition of all our 1.3 million residents; and

WHEREAS, nearly 40 percent of food produced in Maine is never eaten – over 361,000 tons annually – primarily ending up in landfills where it produces harmful methane, a greenhouse gas with about 80 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide over a twenty-year timespan; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

For the first time ever, this past January, parts of Louisiana faced blizzard warnings as an Arctic Blast froze parts of the South.

That same month, in another part of the country, wildfires fueled by severe drought and strong Santa Ana winds torched whole neighborhoods of Los Angeles County.

Then in April, a line of devastating thunderstorms called a "derecho" moved east from Indiana to Pennsylvania, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

In July, a river in central Texas rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes. A "100 year flood" that killed at least 135 people, including dozens of innocent children who were swept away in the middle of the night without any warning.

Last year, the United States experienced 27 separate weather and climate disasters, causing at least $1 billion in damage and taking the lives of nearly 600 people.

Well, Maine has had our share of disasters as well.

In previous decades, our state averaged only one disaster or emergency declaration per year. But between March 2022 and May 2024, we confronted nine natural disasters, each devastating enough to merit Presidential Major Disaster, or emergency declarations.

We all remember the extreme weather that made our rivers overflow their banks and ocean tides surge to record highs. Following those horrible storms, I knew we had to do more. Hannah Pingree, who was then director of my Policy and Innovation Office, led my Administration's work with the legislature to deliver a historic $60 million dollars in storm relief to rebuild working waterfronts, to help damaged inland businesses, and to build stronger infrastructure to withstand extreme weather.

We also passed the largest storm preparedness bill in Maine history, L.D. 1, which I signed into law earlier this year, which enhances emergency planning at all levels and prepares communities for severe weather, and reduces storm related risks for Maine homeowners and businesses.

We all have a responsibility to be prepared. That's why I've declared September to be Preparedness Month, and I call on everyone in our state -- families, businesses, communities -- to plan for emergencies of all kinds.

Here's what you can do: create an emergency plan for your family. Find out about the emergencies that might happen in your area, and talk with your family about what you could do to stay safe.

What would you need, for instance, if a road washed out and you couldn't get to the grocery store for some days?

Or if your home was flooded and you had to leave, where would you go and what would you need to take with you?

If the power went out, what would you do?

We should all have an emergency kit, including food, water, and medicine and whatnot. Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has a list of items to consider on their website at maine.gov/mema. On that website, you can also sign up for emergency alerts to keep informed.

In addition to taking care of our own families, we should all also look out for neighbors, especially older people, people with disabilities, and people who live alone. Checking on your neighbor during a power outage, offering them a ride to a cooling center on a hot day, or just sharing information with them can make all the difference.

When disasters strike in Maine, our first responders do everything they can to keep us safe and to save lives, but we bear a responsibility to be prepared as well. By being ready for the unexpected, we can ease the burden on our first responders and make sure that help goes first to those who need it most.

Together, we can make sure our families, our communities, and our state are all safer, stronger, and ready for whatever storms lie ahead.

Make a plan, build a kit, stay informed and look out for one another during Preparedness Month in Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.