BREWER – Amanda Ela and Haleigh Rice have opened the Brewer Children’s Learning Center, an eco-friendly facility, at 391 N. Main St., next to Paradis Shop ‘n’ Save.
The state-licensed full-service children’s center is run by child care professionals, with a state-licensed pre-kindergarten teacher. The center has full-time and part-time slots for children 6 weeks to school age.
The Brewer Children’s Learning Center will hold an open house:
. 4-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.
. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21.
Hours for the center are 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays.
“We believe a child’s early experiences enrich and stimulate future growth,” Ela and Rice said in a news release. “Children deserve to be treated with respect as individuals in an environment that welcomes reason, exploration, question and imagination. We respect each child’s need for love, security, acceptance, warmth and stimulation.”
The center offers a structured preschool program as well as early learning curricula in its younger classrooms.
A flexible daily schedule is posted in each room to let parents know what their child will be doing throughout the day.
The center provides nutritionally balanced meals and snacks, with menu posted the Friday before each week.
For information, call 974-3039 or visit the Web site at http://brewerclc.webs.com
TV show giveaway winner
BREWER – One of the recent lucky winners in a television cash giveaway was Gail Lane of Brewer.
Never before has a TV show thanked its loyal viewers by giving them what they want most – the chance to win big money every night, said show officials. Starting Nov. 17, “Wheel of Fortune” did just that.
Lane was a winner in the “$5K Every Day,” the all-new $5,000 cash giveaway that celebrates “Wheel Of Fortune’s” milestone 5,000th episode. To be eligible to win viewers sign up for a free membership to the Wheel Watchers Club at www.wheeloffortune.com and receive a SPIN ID number. In every show, an extra SPIN ID number will be shown on screen, and the lucky holder of that number may claim the $5,000 cash prize.
“$5K Every Day” airs every Saturday night through June 6.
Tourism awards
Some 300 tourism and hospitality professionals gathered Feb. 10 at the Portland Marriot at Sable Oaks for the 2009 Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The theme of the conference was “Navigating Change.” Attendees heard keynote addresses from Reed Woodworth, vice president of PKF Consulting Inc., and author and Internet marketing expert Susan Sweeney. Presentations included how to work with the international market, and the Maine Office of Tourism’s approach to marketing Maine as a four-season must-see tourist destination.
“The trends and ideas discussed today have added importance due to the current state of the economy,” said Pat Eltman, director of the Maine Office of Tourism. “Maine’s tourism industry continues to be confident in attracting visitors and committed to providing an unsurpassed vacation experience.”
“In this environment, it is critical to continue to market Maine aggressively, while following current trends and the needs of the traveling public,” Eltman said.
During a dinner ceremony the annual Maine Tourism Awards were presented to honor individuals, businesses and organizations that have distinguished themselves through their work.
Award winners were:
. The American Folk Festival of Bangor, for commitment to community.
. The SummerKeys music program of Lubec, for commitment to innovation and creativity.
. Maine Port Authority’s CruiseMaineUSA, for commitment to tourism growth.
. The Bayview of Bar Harbor, for commitment to customer service.
. The Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland, the Governor’s Award for Tourism Excellence.
The Governor’s Conference on Tourism is a project of the Maine Office of Tourism, the Maine Tourism Commission and numerous sponsors, including the major conference sponsor, Maine Tourism Association.