[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16980-16981]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING ISAMAX SNACKS

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, earlier this year members of the 
Maine Legislature proposed a bill to name the whoopie pie the official 
State dessert

[[Page 16981]]

of Maine, later settling on naming it the ``State treat of Maine.'' The 
whoopie pie, a baked good normally consisting of two chocolate cakes 
with creamy frosting in between, has been a New England tradition for 
nearly a century. Anyone who has tasted a whoopie pie knows exactly how 
special and delectable one really is. With Maine's official ``treat'' 
in mind, today I recognize and commend Isamax Snacks, a small business 
in Maine that has perfected the art of homemade whoopie pies.
  Amy Bouchard always loved baking, and in 1994, she started a small 
business making whoopie pies, out of her home kitchen in the small town 
of Gardiner. Amy's whoopie pies were famous among her friends as 
``wicked,'' and therefore she thought it was only proper to name them 
``Wicked Whoopies.'' As any Mainer knows, ``wicked'' is a synonym for 
``great'' and is commonly used to refer to any extraordinary item, 
which Amy's desserts most certainly are.
  Originally, Isamax was started as a way to supplement her husband's 
income to assist in raising their two young children, Isabella and 
Maxx, from which the name of her company is derived. But as more people 
discovered her Wicked Whoopies, Amy's business grew rapidly and the 
small kitchen could no longer keep up with the demand. In 1996, Amy 
moved to a commercial bakery and purchased two distribution trucks. 
These investments tripled her business size and distribution territory. 
Amy now also has two stores in Farmingdale and Freeport, where she 
sells her mouth-watering treats.
  Today, Amy's small company sells 24 different varieties of whoopie 
pies, including many seasonal favorites like pumpkin and peppermint, 
and produces nearly one million Wicked Whoopies each year! Amy also 
recently added the decadent and innovative ``Whoop-de-Doo'' to her line 
up; a smaller version of a classic Wicked Whoopie dipped in chocolate. 
Her business has received countless reviews and awards for its 
products, and has been featured on several nationally televised shows, 
such as ``The Oprah Winfrey Show'' in 2003, ``Good Morning America'' in 
2005, and Food Network's ``Unwrapped'' in 2007. Wicked Whoopies have 
also been promoted in the New York Times, the Associated Press, and are 
even available for purchase on the Home Shopping Network's Web site for 
the 2011 holiday season. Additionally, the city of Gardiner Board of 
Trade awarded Isamax Snacks with its President's Award in 2004 and 
Interface Tech News awarded Wicked Whoopies ``Maine's Best of the Web'' 
in the e-commerce category in 2005.
  Over the last 15 years, Isamax Snacks has established itself as one 
of the country's premier and most heralded whoopie pie and dessert 
companies. This national notoriety is richly deserved as Amy Bouchard's 
small dream to help her family blossomed into a vibrant small business. 
I am proud to congratulate Amy and everyone at Isamax Snacks on their 
outstanding work, and wish them continued success.

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