PHILLIPS -- Although having the word "Center" in its name suggests a physical location, The Opportunity Center of North Franklin County espouses a more subtle philosophy.

"Our name says a lot about us," board president William Crandall said. "We are in a region that is in dire need of some opportunity."

This group is rallying an area of the state that has seen hard times in the past 10 years. In fact, the group came together around gloomy circumstances. The only factory left in town closed five years ago; 22 people lost their jobs, and the bustling Lauri, Inc. toy factory was suddenly empty.

"Some people around here decided to make some lemonade out of these lemons," Crandall said. "We're promoting job and business opportunities for the folks who live around here."

The new board met every week for the first year. They contacted businesses, recruited students and instructors and begged for donations. Each board member brought unique strengths. Several are teachers, and other have financial and public relations backgrounds.

"We'd all pitch in with $3 each week, and Lauri (Sibulkin) would cook a great meal for us," president William Crandall said. "Good food always helps keep the spirits up."

Treasurer Sylvia Lambert downloaded the Internal Revenue Service forms to apply for nonprofit status; Lambert, Crandall and Michele Tanner met after work to fill in pages of information. After weeks of work, they learned the IRS changed the required forms.

"We redid the entire application," Lambert said.

Meanwhile, they launched an eight-week entrepreneurs' training workshop, yoga, tae kwon do and drawing classes. A certified nursing assistant program, search and rescue training, and puppy obedience classes kept the building humming.

"The Opportunity Center tries looking at things in a different way," Crandall said. "People are taking notice of what we've done in such a short time."

They helped Steve Mitchell, owner of the Maine School of Masonry in Avon, market his curriculum for high schools and technology centers. This year, his students will build a landscaped town entrance in Strong at the Sandy River bridge.

"Our goal is to have five schools taking classes this year," Mitchell said. "We now have three schools on board. We'd like to have the whole state taking masonry classes through us."

They targeted the area's high energy costs, supporting Farmington entrepreneur Bussie York, who installed one of his first corn-burning boilers in the high school's bus garage. At their January meeting, Crandall announced that Likeable Recyclables, a computer and electronics recycling business, just received a $50,000 training and education grant from the J.F. Merck Foundation.

"Two years ago, we had $75 in our account," Lambert said. "In December, 2006, we had a net balance of $55,688, and we even have a savings account."

The United Way, International Paper (Verso), Aristotle Investors, Sugarloaf, Kyes Insurance and the Maine Community Foundation have supported efforts to keep the young people in the community.

"A year and a half ago, we attended a Maine Community Foundation networking seminar," Perlson said. "We went to work to develop a community college without a campus. It's truly a coup for a small rural high school in an unorganized territory to become a successful satellite site."

There's a lack of communication, Perlson explained, between industries who say they need trained workers and workers who say there are no jobs

"Distance is a problem for many of our students," he said. "The rest of the state lives within 25 miles of a community college, but we didn't let that stand in our way. There are jobs for our young people, but they must continue their education to get them."