Maine’s family business

awards presented

SOUTH PORTLAND — The Institute for Family-Owned Business recently hosted its 12th annual Maine Family Business Awards at a celebration at the South Portland Marriott.

The awardees were selected based on a variety of criteria, including business success, positive business and family linkages, contributions to community and industry, family participation, work environment, communication, and innovative business practices or strategies.

Awards were presented in the following categories: Maddy Corson Award for businesses with fewer than 25 employees, LTs inc. of Portland, a silk screen, embroidery and promotional products company; Leon Gorman Award for businesses with 25-plus employees, Allied Cook Construction of Scarborough; Honorable Mention, Day’s Jewelers of Waterville; The Shep Lee Award for community service, Halcyon Yarn of Bath.

A total of 15 finalists had been selected for consideration for the awards. Businesses that reached the finals in the under 25 employee category include Brooks Garage of Robbinston, Cape Porpoise Lobster Company of Kennebunkport, Dean’s Sweets of Portland, Eagle Rental of Waterville, Lee’s Family Trailer Sales & Service of Windham, My-FIT-24 of Gorham, and Robert A. Skilling & Son Excavating of Gray.

Finalists in the category of 25-plus employees were Bisson Transportation of Westbrook, CedarWorks of Rockport, Pioneer Telephone of South Portland, and Port Harbor Marine of South Portland.

For more information about the awards or The Institute for Family-Owned Business, a non-profit that hosts workshops, consulting, and networking opportunities, please call 780-5935 or go to fambusiness.org.

eco-excellence

awards presented

PORTLAND — Each of ecomaine’s 40 municipalities were given the opportunity to nominate an individual, business, or organization for an eco-Excellence Award to honor outstanding environmental efforts that are effective, increase awareness, impact the community and can be easily replicated.

The Grand Award for Best Community Program was presented to Joanna Basinger of Scarborough, the originator of ClosestCloset.com, a website she launched from her home where members can lend or borrow skills, goods and services.

The Best Business Award was presented to Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. The nonprofit was lauded for its program ReConnect, a collaboration with Dell and a third party recycler to safely recycle unwanted electronic waste. Since the launch of ReConnect in 2009, Goodwill has diverted 2,269,686 pounds of electronic waste from landfills.

In Cape Elizabeth, Lisa Fernandes was recognized for starting Portland Maine Permaculture, a meet-up.com group, which has grown to more than 1,000 members who exchange information on permaculture and sustainability.

The award winner for Falmouth was Claudia King for her work in promoting eco-awareness in the community as a founding member and liaison to the Falmouth branch of Maine Partners for Cool Communities and as a member of the Falmouth Recycling Energy and Advisory Committee.

In Freeport, Wolfe’s Neck Farm received the ecomaine Community Award based on the nonprofit’s efforts to educate the community about conservation and sustainable agriculture. Gritty McDuff’s in Freeport was presented with a Business Award for efforts including installing a solar heating system.

Harpswell resident Donna Frisoli was nominated by the Harpswell Board of Selectmen for serving as a model for recycling.

Brentwood Farms Community Garden of Portland received a Community Award. The farm is a project launched by volunteers in the Deering Neighborhood Association that now offers 60 family garden plots on what was once a neglected lot on Brentwood Street.

Mark Follansbee of Scarborough received an award for his commitment to the environment, particularly his passion for teaching the public about worm composting.

In South Portland, Enrico Perruzzi, senior park maintainer for the South Portland Parks Department and sports turf manager of South Portland’s Wainwright Recreation Fields, earned an award for maintaining over 25 acres of the Wainwright Fields with organic fertilizers.

Yarmouth’s Bruce’s Burritos earned the Business Award after being nominated by the Yarmouth Recycling Committee for using organic foods, and commitment to recycling and waste reduction.

Other Awards, Recognitions

Abbe Yacoben, finance director for the town of Freeport, was awarded the 2011 New England States Government Finance Officers Association scholarship to attend the annual Advanced Government Finance Institute in Madison, Wis.

New England’s wholesale trade organization, the Boston Shoe Travelers, named Lamey-Wellehan as New England’s Shoe Retailer of the Year at the Manchester Shoe Show held recently.

Peggy Harmon and her son, Steward Harmon, of Moorebrook Farm in Scarborough, earned the 2011 Outstanding Conservation Farm Award at the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Meeting.

Mercy Hospital of Portland, Mid Coast Hospital of Brunswick and Parkview Adventist Medical Center of Brunswick were among the awardees of the Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network’s Gold Star Standards of Excellence for 2011 for advancing a campus tobacco policy and promoting tobacco-free living.

“Where Cool Waters Flow,” authored by Randy Spencer and published by Islandport Press of Yarmouth was named the best book of 2010 by the New England Outdoor Writers Association.

Benjamin H. Clark of Yarmouth, senior vice president and wealth advisor of Bayside Wealth Management, has been named to Barron’s Top 1,000 Financial Advisors List for the second year in a row.

Winxnet employee Mike Walsh was recently awarded Microsoft SQL Server Most Valuable Professional for 2011 by Microsoft. The award is given to 4,000 individuals from a pool of 100 million professionals worldwide.

The Society for Human Resource Management has awarded the Human Resources Association of Southern Maine the EXCEL Gold Award for 2010.

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At the 12th annual Maine Family Business Awards, the winner of the Shep Lee Award for community service was presented to Halcyon Blake, on right, of Halcyon Yarn in Bath, by Shep Lee’s son, Adam Lee, on left.

ecomaine presented its Grand Award for Best Community Program to Joanna Basinger of Scarborough, pictured here with her Grand Award chair and plaque, for launching the website ClosestCloset.com.

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