Our small businesses are the cornerstone of the Maine economy. They are also the heart and soul of our lovely seaside community.
That is why I was honored to join our local Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 6 for its annual awards banquet. The chamber and its members do great work to support our business community and local economy, and I was glad for the opportunity to thank them for all they do.
The tourism industry is critical across Maine, and nowhere is that more true than here in Old Orchard Beach. The thousands of visitors who come into our town on any given summer day are what allow our local economy to thrive. The money they spend at our bars and restaurants, at our hotels, at Palace Playland and at every shop on the boardwalk supports our entrepreneurs and workers and increases our municipal tax base.
However, for all of us and particularly for our tourism sector, this past year and a half has brought challenges none of us would ever have imagined.
In the face of this adversity, Old Orchard Beach businesses and their employees have stepped up in extraordinary ways. Together, we worked hard to keep our doors open and to take care of each other. Our businesses innovated. Our neighbors organized to support the local economy.
As state representative, I know I spoke with countless members of our community who were determined to access the resources needed to get our community through. That included more than 300 Old Orchard Beach businesses who received Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans, keeping over 2,000 workers on the payroll and everything from restaurants and hotels to mental health providers in business.
Our community deserves tremendous recognition for our determination, our refusal to give up even during our toughest days.
To be sure, we continue to face challenges. At the State House this year, I have worked to ensure we're doing all we can at the state level to help businesses rebound from the pandemic and fill critical workforce needs. We created additional economic recovery grants, targeting those who had not been eligible for previous COVID-19 relief funding, and invested in workforce training. It is an important start, and I am committed to continuing to fight to ensure we can meet our workforce needs.
As we continue to write this chapter of our history, we have tremendous opportunities to take what we've learned from the pandemic to make our economy stronger moving forward. We have and will continue to come together to develop better solutions for our tourism-driven community. I know we will keep working hard to ensure that we are advocating the needs of our town and business community - all of us, together.
I am excited and optimistic about the year ahead and the future of our community. We are strong. We are resilient. We are innovative. And we will ensure economic opportunity reaches every corner of our community. We are a community of businesses, and most importantly, we are a community of hard-working people.
The people of our community our businesses, workers and incredible volunteers make Old Orchard Beach a place I am proud to call home.
Rep. Lori K. Gramlich is serving her second term in the Maine House. She represents House District 13, Old Orchard Beach, and serves on both the Environment and Natural Resources and the Taxation Committee. She can be reached at Rep. Lori Gramlich.