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September 17, 2012

From the editor: Passion and its many forms

Attending high school in a blue-collar town in Massachusetts at the height of the Baby Boom left precious little time for what we used to call extra-curriculars — primarily drama, music and art classes.

My high school was so crowded in the mid '70s we had triple sessions to accommodate all the kids; class sizes of 30 were common. So when I went off to college, I confess feeling somewhat intimidated by art. I had no frame of reference for appreciating it. To me, a Jackson Pollack painting simply looked like a first cousin to the drop cloth my uncle, a carpenter and painter, used at his work sites.

Then I spent a year teaching and traveling in Mexico. Mexicans love to tell their history through murals and I was transfixed by the work of Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros. Their murals of struggle between peasants and the privileged, between rebels and their oppressors, were visceral and moving. No wonder they inspired a revolution.

I'm intrigued that museum directors across Maine are trying to tap into that same passion for art and history by forging relationships with businesses that can offer financial support as well as context for relevancy. Endowments, sponsorships and outright gifts from business people are behind some of the state's most engaging exhibits, an issue Senior Writer Jim McCarthy explores in his cover piece, “Curating the future.”

We also take a look at health care in this issue — in at least one case, a very personal look at health care. EMT Dennis Simmons shares his trials and triumphs as the winner in his company's wellness challenge, in “Heeding the call,” starting on page 36. Staff Writer Matt Dodge also writes about a pilot program to bring more services and an enhanced understanding of mental health issues to the workplace, in “Mental wellness,” starting on page 32. We also get a glimpse at how pioneers at Coastal Women's Healthcare embraced electronic records and have happier patients and improved revenues to show for it, in “Connecting care,” on page 28. And we hear from Gregory White of Consumers for Affordable Health Care who discusses some little-known health insurance resources for small businesses in a commentary, “Good news,” on page 31.

We also applaud the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development for extending its Top Gun program throughout the state by using technology and a financial boost from the Blackstone Foundation, among other supporters. The program, which helps innovators bring their startups to market, has a proven track record and we hear from some of its graduates in Contributing Writer Lori Valigra's story, “Top Gun expands statewide,” starting on the cover.

These are entrepreneurs who have a real passion for what they do. Just like those Mexican muralists.

Carol Coultas

ccoultas@mainebiz.biz

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