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Thank you to our major sponsors:
2008 Annual Awards Banquet
Friday, January 25, 2008
Augusta Civic Center Main Auditorium
5:30 p.m. Social Hour & Cash Bar
7:00 p.m. Dinner & Awards Ceremonies
$45 per person/$360 for table of eight
RSVP required - call 207-623-4559
or e-mail info@augustamaine.com
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These businesses and organizations, and the people who provide leadership for them, have a profound effect upon the business environment and the economy in the Capital Area and beyond. They all contribute significantly to the quality of life enjoyed in the Kennebec Valley.
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Business of the Year
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Kennebec Journal
John Christie
Maine’s oldest daily newspaper, first published in 1825, continues to be the primary
source of detailed public information and news 364 days a year for some 30,000 readers
in the Augusta Micropolitan. Since 2000, John Christie has published the KJ (along
with the Morning Sentinel in Waterville/Skowhegan) and has emphasized local news
coverage with his team of 60 journalists. The KJ produces some 80 special sections
such as Business Journal, Medical Journal, Summer in Maine and provides timely electronic
news with some 15 updates a day on its web site. The 183-year old business is also
a forum for public policy debate and a strong community supporter of projects: new
Cony H.S., KV-YMCA and Alfond Cancer Center.
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Business Person of the Year
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Kim Vandermeulen
Alternative Manufacturing, Inc.
This electrical engineer-lawyer gave legal support to Winthrop’s young electronics manufacturing company several years before joining AMI full time in 1997. His leadership has helped skyrocket the business (which produces printed circuit boards for worldwide clients such as TYCO) from 50 employees in 1997 to more than 150 today. Sales grew from $10 million in 2001 to $18 million now. Vandermeulen credits his management team and versatile workforce with the company’s success and expects growth in the next five years to approach 250 employees and $30 to $35 million in sales. Varied AMI products may go into toys, autos, air conditioners, industrial welders, etc., but most go to access control devices, for example: to provide security for the New York Transit Authority.
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Lifetime Achievement Award
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H. Allen Ryan
PFG NorthCenter (retired)
This Bowdoin grad liked Maine enough to quit big city sales jobs and move to Augusta
in 1970 to run a small food service company doing $600,000 in sales with five employees.
By 1982, with staff at 26 and sales at $6 million, he bought the firm from Jos.
Kirschner Co. and renamed it NorthCenter Foodservice. The business continued to
grow, providing food products to restaurants and schools throughout Maine and New
England. In 1999, at 250 employees and $106 million in sales, he sold the company
to Performance Foods Group. PFG NorthCenter now employs 375 with sales at $200 million.
A board member and major benefactor of Bowdoin and Thomas colleges and a Florida
school for immigrant children, Ryan also has been a key contributor to Cony H.S.,
KV-YMCA and Alfond Cancer Center.
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President's Awards
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Ganneston Construction, Inc.
Stacey Morrison
Stacey Morrison, armed with a BA in economics/management and computers from Wheaton
College, tackled banking and construction management positions from Maine to Tennessee
before buying her own construction firm in 2001. Since purchasing Ganneston, she
has grown the business from $6 million to $15 million in annual sales, doing commercial
building projects for clients such as Reny’s, Maine Veterans’ Homes, Maine Air National
Guard, Maine State Housing, Senator Inn, Winslow and Hall-Dale schools and others.
She’s proud of her 45 member “family” workforce and strong management team at the
44-year-old firm. Besides being a relatively new mom, she’s a busy leader as chair
of Maine’s Associated Builders and Contractors, incoming chair of the United Way
and vice chair of the KV Chamber.
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Quality Inn & Suites – Maine Evergreen Hotel
Alec Rogers and Julie Ingham-Rogers
Alec and Julie Rogers deferred acting and teaching careers in 1995 to take over
management of her parents’ Susse Chalet hotel with plans to upgrade and sell. Eight
years later they bought it themselves. After continuous improvements they took on
a huge task of building a three-story hotel over their older two-story structure
in 2006-7. The new Quality Inn & Suites – Maine Evergreen Hotel features 76 (up
from 58) rooms with seven whirlpool suites and a conference center. “We’re blessed
with a great staff and wonderful clients who weathered the unusual construction
program with humor and grace,” they say. The Rogers’ team “pledges a high quality
environment for their guests.”
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Smart Eyecare Center
Dr. Richard Smart
Dr. Richard Smart opened his optometry practice in Augusta in 1990, after 8 years
of military and private practice in Alaska. Then the practice included his wife
Cyndie and one other. “We worked hard to establish a good practice, known for excellent
skills and high technology,” Rick says. The business has seen double digit growth
yearly and Smart Eyecare now manages offices in Augusta, Farmingdale and Bangor,
employing 50 people, including six full time doctors. Smart emphasizes top quality
and extra patient conveniences: evening/weekend office hours, 24-hour emergency
service, glasses made while you wait, state-of-the-art equipment… and performs some
15,000 full patient eye exams each year.
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Community Service Awards
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Bread of Life Ministries
John Applin
First a soup kitchen on Water Street, Augusta, Bread of Life soon offered shelter
for the homeless and began a growth period of connecting volunteer givers with people
in greatest need. The soup kitchen now provides some 35,000 meals a year while “bed
nights” have risen to 9,000. Besides food and shelter, BOLM provides targeted case
management, volunteer mentoring and training programs, car donation service and
self-help housing. “BOLM welcomes families and adults who have no place else to
go,” says John Applin, executive director. BOLM currently is building a 43-unit
affordable housing complex in Augusta in partnership with Kennebec Valley Community
Action Program.
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Kennebec Valley Community Action Program
Raymond Richard
KVCAP, created in 1965 to deal with poverty, neighborhood and drug issues, is now
a multi-faceted social service agency dealing with education, transportation, family
health, housing and energy. Raymond Richard, executive director since 1966, and
KVCAP constantly assess needs in Kennebec and Somerset counties and work with a
staff of 240 to address concerns largely through contract services. KVCAP serves
8,600 families yearly with heating oil help, serves 2,400 at family planning clinics
and offers child care and Head Start to hundreds. Besides running 36 public transportation
buses, KVCAP coordinates 85 volunteers who drive 4 million miles transporting “on
demand” clients.
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Special Service Award
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Augusta Comprehensive Plan Commission
Les Wilkinson, Esq., and Lisa Dickson
For more than two years, Les Wilkinson, Esq., and Lisa Dickson have chaired a large
group of volunteers to formulate a new comprehensive plan for the Capital City.
The tremendous commitment of time and talent by this large group of Augusta citizens
will set the tone for growth, development and livability in the community for the
next decade.
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