Colby Co. Brings STEM Fun to Madison High School

On Wednesday, January 26, 2022 eight members of the Colby Co. crew headed north to Madison Area Memorial High School in Madison, ME. There, the Colby Co. team surprised nearly 70 students with an introduction into the engineering profession along with a STEM activity that included the creation of a ventilated clean room for health care workers.

This was the first time many students had been exposed to the engineering field, and for many students this was the first time in years where they were able to collaborate with teams since the beginning of the pandemic. Many members from the school commented that they noticed students who are usually quiet in the classroom emerge as leaders within this hands-on experiment, and groups of students who normally wouldn’t work together rise together in collaboration.

Heather Sustersic, PE led a presentation that included highlighting the different engineering fields along with their function and importance to the assembly of kids, while Amanda Vogler, LEED spoke about Mechanical Engineering and its importance in the activity created by the Colby Co. team. 

With 40 minutes on the timer, the high school students were tasked to create a well-ventilated hospital room where the goal was to keep the health care provider safe from a contaminated patient. Students used tools like fans, blowers, ductwork, plastic sheets, tape and scissors to create a ventilated space that would move contaminated air through the room while keeping the healthcare worker at minimal exposure. Once their rooms were complete, students tested their experiment by having a patient “cough” cornstarch in the room while the healthcare worker tried to care for the patient within a 2 minute period. The room that moved the air the most with their designed ventilation system, and kept the cornstarch from attaching to the healthcare worker, won a prize.

During the event, the Colby Co. team met with students to encourage their critical thinking and problem solving, while keeping them on task with a limited budget and resources. They shared their own problem solving techniques and unique challenges within the industry.

Colby Co. Holiday Party

On December 9, 2021 Colby Co. employees gathered together at Belleflower Brewing Company to celebrate the holiday and another successful year together. With 18 new clients, multiple new hires and fun new projects, we had a lot to celebrate!

Colby Co. Gives Back By Cleaning Up Sebago Lake State Park

The employees and their families at Colby Co. spent a few days between October and November volunteering their time at Sebago Lake State Park working to clean up the park, raking leaves, clearing brush, repairing drainage access, and cutting down damaged overhanging branches.

Volunteer days are an important part of the Colby Co. culture, as are the state parks in Maine. Each year Colby Co. provides a Maine State Park Vehicle Pass to each of its employees. With their combined State Park visits, employees have visited all of the 39 Maine State Parks. Colby Co. values the Maine State Parks System and we were glad to help make Sebago more accessible for next year’s users.

Colby Co. Named as One of the 2021 Best Places to Work in Maine

Colby Co. was recently named as one of the 2021 Best Places to Work in Maine, ranking #6 in the Medium Business Category. This statewide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Maine, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2021 Best Places to Work in Maine list is made up of 100 companies in three size categories: small (15-49 U.S. employees), medium (50-249 U.S. employees) and large (250+ U.S. employees).

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Places to Work in Maine. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience which is worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. 

This is the 4th year in a row that Colby Co. has been named to this list, ranking in the Top Ten of companies in its category every year. We are truly humbled by our employees who make this place what it is! Comments from this anonymous survey included:

It’s a fast paced professional workplace with smart people who want to learn and collaborate with everyone on the team. We work hard and play often. Colby Co. is very family oriented with lots of employee and family events throughout the year.  Work-life balance is highly encouraged.

As an employee, I have the autonomy and support to excel at my job. There is a shared level of respect and culture of teamwork that makes for an engaging and enjoyable work environment.

Colby Co. prides itself on safety, customer relations/satisfaction, and employees. I have never worked for such a selfless company. Giving to the community, and the employees as much as possible. Company meetings outside the office, company outings, volunteer work, and an amazing work environment that is successful by putting the customers needs before its own. There no sense of “I” at Colby Co., it is such an amazing group of educated people that work as a team to accomplish amazing and sometimes extremely difficult goals.

Colby Co. Hits The Pavement for its First Virtual Race

Employees and their families hit the ground running in order to earn money for a cause! In its inaugural debut, Colby Co. hosted a virtual race for their employees and families in order to get out, have fun, and give back to the community.

Participants had the opportunity to sign up for a 5k, 10k or 1k (kids) Virtual Run/Walk Race. For every participant who signed up, Colby Co. donated up to $200 to the employee’s favorite non-profit organization.In all, 58 employees and their family members signed up to race, and 187 miles were covered in this fun run! $3500 was donated to a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, Cooking For Community, Preble Street, and Maine Needs all on behalf of Colby Co.. Winners of the virtual races also earned a gift card to Fleet Feet. Congratulations, Colby Co. Runners!

Colby Co. Takes Advantage of Winter At Pineland

The crew at Colby Co. gathered at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, ME to explore winter activities together with their families in a team bonding event. Employees participated in ice skating on the newly installed pond, cross-country skiing over 16 miles of groomed trails, and sledding down their giant sledding hill. Picnic lunches were provided for all employees and family members so they could enjoy a full day outside enjoying what Maine has to offer.

This is one of the many opportunities Colby Co. provides within the year to enjoy the Maine outdoors with coworkers and families. Pineland Farms has over 5,000 acres which includes plenty of opportunity for outdoor recreational activities, and it provides a safe atmosphere for employees to gather while following Covid protocols. This event was enjoyed by all, and will become a repeat event for the company!

Colby Co. Celebrates Valentine’s Day in Downtown Portland

Colby Co. is getting into the holiday spirit with decorative windows.

Inspired by the 35-year tradition of Portland Valentine’s Day Bandit, Colby Co. wanted to give its office some love.

Colby Co. is a proud Portland company, and wanted to celebrate with some festive lights to remind their neighbors that they love being a part of so many wonderful local businesses.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Colby Co. Raises $20,000 for the Opportunity Alliance’s Winter Warm-Up Fundraiser

Colby Co. recently completed a fundraiser for the Opportunity Alliance’s Winter Warm-Up, and was able to raise $20,000 for the event.

The Winter Warm-Up fund raises money to provide hundreds of children and their families with crucial winter items, including coats, boots, and gloves; as well as food and other essentials.

For every $1 raised by CCE staff, Colby Co. contributed an additional $1, committing to a $10,000 match.

Through the generosity of its employees, Colby Co. was able to reach its goal of $20,000.

Because of CCE’s donation, the Opportunity Alliance was able to provide 200 children and adults with the warm clothing they need to stay safe and comfortable outdoors this winter.

The Opportunity Alliance said that in addition to providing necessary items, CCE’s donation “enabled families to celebrate their holiday season meaningfully.”

This was CCE’s second time supporting the Winter Warm-Up fundraiser. CCE is a proud supporter of the work and mission of the Opportunity Alliance.

Colby Co. Named One of the 2020 Best Places to Work in Maine

Colby Co. was recently named as one of the 2020 Best Places to Work in Maine, ranking #4 in the Small Business Category. This statewide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Maine, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2020 Best Places to Work in Maine list is made up of 75 companies in three size categories: small (15-49 U.S. employees), medium (50-249 U.S. employees) and large (250+ U.S. employees).

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Places to Work in Maine. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience which is worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation.

Comments from the anonymous survey included:

“I feel like they trust me to make decisions and they support me when I need additional direction and/or help solving an issue. They tell us that “family comes first” and they mean it. They go out of their way to show that they care, such as the state park pass, lots of free food, bonuses and flex hours.”

“I like the variety of projects and it’s never boring. My teammates are incredible and they make me want to work harder and do better. There are tons of perks and I feel like the company genuinely cares about my happiness. I am trusted to get my work done in a flexible time frame which allows me to better support my family.”

“The company leadership are the kindest, most genuine people that I’ve ever met and worked for. They are extremely generous and caring for all of their employees and truly promote “family first” throughout the organization, and empower everyone to have the flexibility needed to do our best work but to deal with any personal issues or challenges. I think that everyone feels extremely valued as an employee and a person, and that we all are willing to “go the extra mile” because they have created a company that is a very special place to work with a wonderful culture, compensation, and benefits. The best “compensation” and motivator for me is the mutual respect and flexibility, and culture of kindness.”

Colby Co. Hosts Volunteer Events at Sebago Lake State Park

Colby Co. hosted three volunteer events at Sebago Lake State Park in October and November.  Close to 100 volunteers performed trail maintenance activities during the three events to include clearing 225+ campsites of leaves and debris.  The team also raked, trimmed, cleared branches, did basic stone work, repaired water drainage points and spread gravel on Sebago Lake State Park’s trails.

Each year Colby Co. provides a Maine State Park Vehicle Pass to each of its employees. With our combined State Park visits, we have visited all of the 39 Maine State Parks. We all value the Maine State Parks System and we were glad to help make Sebago more accessible for next year’s users.