Portland, MAINE (3/4/10) – Norman Patry’s journey from the desk of an investment office to a bicycle seat in coastal Maine is not just the story of a man who pursued – and caught – his dream. It’s also a tale of how one person’s vision can inspire others.

Patry’s business, Summer Feet, is celebrating its 10^th anniversary, in providing van-assisted bicycle tours, where all lodging, food and other logistics are handled for clients.

The business grew out Patry’s cross-country bicycle adventure, which he took as a break from his work with annuities and other financial instruments, even though he had not being on a bike for 13 years. Today, Summer Feet trips spur others to get out of their homes and, in many cases, onto bicycles for the first time in years.

“I hadn’t been on a bicycle outside for at least 16 years,” said Colleen Harwood, a nurse who lives in Bolton, Mass. “But two years ago, I decided to take a trip with Summer Feet to coastal Maine, as a way to get my husband away from his Blackberry and laptop.”

“A trip like that just does so much good for your psyche,” she said. “You let things go.”

The day after her return from the trip, Harwood bought a bicycle. She is now an avid cyclist who has twice completed 50-mile fundraising rides for charity. It also helped her reconnect with family, she said.

“This trip said to my husband and me that we really are still connected as a couple and can have fun together,” Harwood said. “I think it’s good for any relationship to do something like this.”

Summer Feet offers bicycle tours to some of the most stunningly beautiful locations in New England, Canada and New Zealand. Four new trips are planned for this summer. Two are geared for all cyclists:

• Quebec, where riders will take the Route Verte, which was first among the Top Ten Bike Routes selected by National Geographic Magazine. The trip includes Quebec City, as well as historic villages and beautiful natural features such as the spectacular Montmorency Falls.

• Cape Breton, which has been described by Bicycling Magazine as one of the best rides in North America. This trip includes Cape Breton Highlands National Park and incorporates the Scottish flavor to be found in this part of Nova Scotia.

Summer Feet’s other two new trips are being adapted to meet the needs of deaf people. These vacations will be led by experienced bicycle-trip guides who also are fluent in American Sign Language. The first of these trips will take place Aug. 27-29, in and around Acadia National Park, near Bar Harbor, Maine. The other will be Sept. 24-26 to the area around scenic Camden, Maine.

“It’s amazing how much I’ve learned doing this,” Patry said. “I love riding my bike, of course. That’s how I got started. But I also really enjoy the other part of the business — making sure clients have incredible, sometimes life-changing experiences.”

Andrea Schall took a Summer Feet trip to the Maine coast in 2006, even though she was not much of a bicyclist at the time.

“It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on. Norman and his guides totally understand what you need, and they take care of you,” said Schall, who lives in Los Angeles. “It actually got me into biking to the point where I bought a bicycle and bike all the time now.”

Summer Feet is different from many of the large tour operators, in its ability to find unique local experiences that higher-volume businesses miss. His trips to Camden, Maine, for example offer sunset dinner cruises on schooners.

“Summer Feet is very purposeful in how they run the trip to make sure that you have a wonderful experience,” said Tom Braun, a middle school teacher from Iowa who was an active bicyclist even before his first Summer Feet trip. “A lot of the places you stay are right on the water. The food is great. And you don’t carry a suitcase at any time in the trip, because they take care of all that for you.”

Patry began his cross-country trip by taking a book out of his local library and getting a map of Virginia through the Adventure Cycling Association. A few years later, he stopped working with finance in Massachusetts, so that he could move to Maine and start Summer Feet.

“The first year we had 11 clients, total,” Patry said. “Today, we help hundreds of people explore beautiful, new areas every year. Some of our clients bike all the time. But others really fall in love with bicycles on our trips, the same way that I did on that ride across America.”

Based in Portland, Maine, Summer Feet offers travelers assisted bicycle tours and the most-authentic experiences available of beautiful locations in Maine, Canada and New Zealand. Summer Feet has a decade of experience in providing van support, knowledgeable guides and logistics for memorable bicycle vacations. More information is available at www.summerfeet.net, via email to info@summerfeet.net, or by phone at 866-857-9544.

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Scarborough, Maine – Recognizing that many businesses and institutions need to address burdensome energy budgets, Thermal Systems, Inc. has developed a new website filled with information about cost savings, energy efficiency, and sustainability made possible by converting to biomass or cogeneration and upgrading to higher efficiency systems using natural gas and oil. In the website, visitors can learn the facts about these alternative energies through client stories and real results.

“TSI’s new website showcases current projects and case studies of completed projects, highlighting the financial savings institutions and industrial clients have received by using alternative energy,” said Candi Huber, Project Manager. “The savings reports and statistics are astounding.”

Owner Bob Waller has over 30 years experience in the steam and power industry. Mr. Waller is often called in as a consultant by Architectural Engineers needing expertise on re-powering projects. One specific element of the website he is proud of is the “What Is?…” section, providing in-depth information on the types of alternative energies TSI deals with. “Not only are we in business to save people money on energy costs, but also to educate and inform,” says Mr. Waller.

TSI’s clients include clients include Tom’s of Maine, Bath Iron Works, Bates College, and UPS. They service locations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.

About Thermal Systems, Inc.

Thermal Systems, Inc. (TSI) is an established design, procurement and construction management firm providing a wide range of services to Facility Managers, Plant Engineers and Plant Superintendents. Located in Scarborough, Maine, they offer single source responsibility for all types of energy and process applications.

About Hall Web Services
Hall Web Services of Portland, Maine partners with small to medium sized businesses to grow their businesses through the creation of a comprehensive web strategy. Hall’s services include web design and development, managed hosting, internet marketing, inbound marketing strategies and multimedia production.

For more information visit www.hallme.com/press.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine – Attorney Jeffrey A. Thaler was elected President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) at the group’s 2nd annual meeting this week in Portland, Maine.  Thaler, a partner at law firm Bernstein Shur, is renowned for his work in environmental and energy law.  ACOEL is a professional association of prominent environmental lawyers recognized by their peers as preeminent in their field.

As one of the ACOEL’s founders, Thaler has provided the group with organizational leadership as well as expertise on the legal dimensions of issues including greenhouse gases, alternative energy and climate change.  He is a senior member of Bernstein Shur’s energy, environmental, and litigation practice groups.

“This is a deserving honor for Jeff that truly speaks to his strong reputation and the respect he has earned in the legal community,” said Charles E. Miller, managing shareholder at Bernstein Shur.  “His strong reputation as an environmental and energy attorney will provide ACOEL with solid, credible leadership.”

Thaler is recognized by Best Lawyers in America as a leading figure in environmental and natural resources law, and by Chambers USA for his environmental and litigation practices.  He has taught environmental law at the University of Maine Law School, serves on the Boards of the Land for Maine’s Future, the Energy and Environmental Technology Council of Maine and is lead author of The Maine Environmental Law Handbook.  Thaler is a graduate of the Yale University School of Law and Williams College.

The American College of Environmental Lawyers
The American College of Environmental Lawyers is a professional association of lawyers distinguished by their experience and high standards in the practice of environmental law.  ACOEL members are dedicated to: maintaining and improving the ethical practice of environmental law; the administration of justice; and the development of environmental law at both the state and federal level.  More information can be found at http://www.acoel.org.

Bernstein Shur
Bernstein Shur is one northern New England’s largest multi-service law firms, with more than 100 attorneys in offices in Maine and New Hampshire.  Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation, and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world.  Bernstein Shur is Maine’s exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. More information can be found at http://bernsteinshur.com.

CONTACT:

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Bangor, ME—September 19-20–Columbia Street Baptist Church, 63 Columbia Street, will be host medical missionary Kristy Engel.

Kristy Engel tries to live by her saying, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, in the moment you’re given” through her medical work in La Romana, Dominican Republic and the surrounding sugarcane villages.

Spending time as a mission volunteer in Haiti helped Kristy to realize that God was calling her into medical mission. After completing nursing school, she returned to Haiti and worked in pediatrics at Good Samaritan Hospital in Limbé for eighteen months. Now she works with the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic, ministering to Haitians who are among the poorest in the country. She travels daily to batey (work camp) villages and barrios providing medical attention where so many have been unwilling or unable to offer these services.

“I find incredible joy and fulfillment in working with children,” says Kristy Engel, who uses her skills in nursing and education in medical ministry in the Dominican Republic.

Malnutrition, parasites and poor economic conditions make it difficult to provide appropriate care to the children she works with, but with the help of many American volunteers, she is able to meet some of their needs. She helps to coordinate the medical and volunteer teams that visit the Good Samaritan Hospital as well as mentor individuals or university students who seek international experiences.

Her two dogs, Kobe and Sasha, are also part of her ministry by being her “patients” as she demonstrates appropriate oral hygiene by brushing their teeth and talking about
caring for our bodies. “When I work with my dog, Kobe, to teach children proper hygiene by brushing his teeth, bathing him and brushing his coat,” she says, “most of the kids know his name better than my own!”

Kristy believes few people enter the field of medical ministry because of perceived hardship and often-volatile work environments. “Unfortunately, this means that many people around the world will suffer and die due to lack of medical treatment,” she says. “I have found that God has given me a greater sense of His purpose through nursing on the mission field.”  Kristy completed her Master’s in Nursing and her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program in 2009.

Kristy has been working in La Romana since 2000 and she speaks both Spanish and Haitian Creole fluently.

Kristy also leads many American work teams that minister to the needs in the Dominican Republic.

Kristy Engel’s Schedule:  Sept. 19 – 6:00 pm Potluck Supper with Kristy Speaking at 7:00 pm.  Sept. 20 – 9:00 am: Kristy will share with the children and youth. Sept. 20 – 10:15: Kristy will share in the morning worship service. Sept. 20 – 6:00 pm: Kristy will share in the evening worship service

PORTLAND – When Stanford Management’s affordable housing facilities get a $25 million facelift this summer, the company will be using paint, carpeting and materials that have a very low impact on the environment, including thousands of gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint that meets the most stringent environmental standards.

Last year, Stanford secured $25.5 million in US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Funds for the revitalization of more than 78 housing properties in Stanford’s portfolio, including properties in Maine, Connecticut, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. The funds will help create hundreds of jobs in Maine because most of the contracts will be given to local individuals and vendors for the work that includes repairing/replacing roofs, making ADA upgrades to the parking lot and common areas, elevator system updates, replacing windows and repairing or replacing siding.

And where possible, the upgrades will be completed with hundreds of yards of carpets made from recycled materials and hundreds of gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint with the GreenSure® designation that are designed and manufactured to reduce environmental impact and meet or exceed the most stringent regulatory requirements.

“The residents are going to see big changes to their properties that will make them more comfortable and attractive,” said Rosa Scarcelli, owner and president of Stanford Management. “But they’ll be doubly pleased to know that we’re using materials that don’t harm the environment. And for a major upgrade like this where we’ll be using lots of paint and materials, it’s good to know that companies like Sherwin-Williams offer products that are eco-friendly and meet high performance standards as well.”

For example, Sherwin-Williams Harmony Interior Latex Coating has zero-VOCs (volatile organic compounds emitted by some products that have adverse health effects) and carries the company’s GreenSure® designation. It is also GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality Certified® and GreenGuard Certified for Children and Schools.

Furthermore the paint comes in containers made from plastic that is 100% recycled from post-consumer resin. The label contains 75% recovered fiber and 25% post-consumer waste, and is
printed using soy ink. The containers are manufactured at four plants around the US to lower the distance from plant to store.

“Sherwin-Williams leads the industry in the development of environmentally responsible products through our GreenSure® designation, which takes into consideration product performance and environmental factors,” said Steve Revnew of Sherwin Williams. “However, it is important to us that we offer products to our customers that are third-party tested and certified through the GreenGuard Environmental Institute. These GreenGuard certified products meet or exceed the most stringent green building specifications.”

“It is refreshing for us to work with a company like Stanford Management who understand the importance of using products that help protect the environment for future generations. Sherwin Williams is committed to providing the products, product knowledge and training to help ensure Stanford Management meets it’s goal of going green.” said Richard Alley of the Belfast Sherwin Williams.

About Stanford Management: Stanford Management is the largest woman owned affordable housing provider in the United States and one of the largest women owned companies in the state of Maine. It operates nearly 60 affordable housing facilities in Maine from Madawaska to Old Orchard Beach and provides housing for more than 5,000 families and individuals, as well as properties in three other states. In 2008, Affordable Housing Magazine named Stanford as one of the top 10 affordable housing providers in the country. Rosa Scarcelli, a native of Wilton, Maine, is owner and President. For more information see www.stanfordmanagement.com or go to http://pitch.pe/7464
For more information on Sherwin-Williams eco-friendly products, see www.swgreenspecs.com

CONTACT: For Stanford Management, Dennis Bailey, Savvy, Inc., 207-347-6077