Annually, The Chamber honors a number of organizations and individuals for their significant contributions to our communities. This year’s awards will be presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting at the Ramada Conference Center on Thursday, January 29. The Chamber is pleased to recognize the following individuals and businesses.
The Business Leadership Award for a larger company will be presented to Bedard Health Care Pharmacy and owners Mike and Annette Nadeau. Bucking national trends, the Nadeaus are the third generation in the pharmacy business and have grown their business remarkably in the last decade.
The Business Leadership Award for a smaller company will be presented to Mike Morin’s Auto Center, long a landmark on outer Center Street in Auburn. Mike and his crew are renowned in the area for excellent customer service.
The Lisbon Business Award will be presented to Lisbon Community Federal Credit Union. Part of the town of Lisbon since 1959, the credit union grew so much that they required a new home which is now located in the center of town to better service all of their Lisbon customers. Recently, the credit union became one of the key supporters in launching the Keep Maine Strong campaign.
The prestigious Ray Geiger Award will be presented to Jan Barrett of the Ware Street Inn for her tireless work in supporting The Chamber. For almost 10 years, Jan has been a major player on the Regional Image Committee and the Board of Directors. She has also been a member of the Not Your Normal Formal planning committee and has recently been working hard to keep The Chamber and its programs in the news. Chamber President, Chip Morrison, noted, “Jan has been a stalwart in supporting our Chamber. No matter what you ask, Jan is always willing to lend a helping hand.”
The Ken Additon Business Advocate Award will be presented to Maine & Company for their successful work in bringing new businesses to the state of Maine.
The Community Service Leadership Award will be presented to Andrew Harris of L/A Arts for his tireless efforts in promoting local arts organizations and local artists. Andrew has taken very seriously the mission of getting arts organizations to work more closely together and in the last year has pushed for a more timely and comprehensive community arts calendar. Under his leadership, L/A Arts has launched several new galleries in such places as a pub, a coffee house, a French bistro restaurant, and in their administrative office.
The Greene Business Award will be awarded to Riverwalk Creations and owners Kathryn and Jonathan Beausang who have put together a great new business in Greene featuring hand crafted jewelry.
The Turner Business Award will be presented to Brigeen Farms, a family dairy farm in existence since the 1770s. Steve and Mary Briggs and Bill and Betsy Bullard are the eighth and ninth generation to operate the farm on this site in Turner. The dairy herd consists of 475 mature animals and 400 head of young animals.
The Public Service Leadership Award will be presented to Dottie Perham-Whittier of the city of Lewiston for her outstanding work in promoting the youth of the city of Lewiston and leading the development and implementation of many critical local projects.
The Education-Business Partnership Award will be presented to Rick Speer of the Lewiston Public Library. Rick has been instrumental in making the Lewiston Library a force in forging community partnerships to foster learning among Lewiston residents, particularly youth and residents of downtown neighborhoods.
This year The Chamber is introducing a new award, “The Cool Chamber Award,” which will be presented to an organization or business which has made a significant difference in reducing energy usage and preserving resources. The initial award will be presented to Efficiency Maine.
There will be two winners of the prestigious President’s Award. For their work in helping to completely change the image of downtown Lewiston – DaVinci’s Restaurant and owner Jules Patry, whose vision of downtown as a destination was the beginning of a major transformation. The second President’s award will go to Robert Cooper and Marc Cooper, the owners of Bisson Transportation/Lynxus, LLC whose investment in Auburn has taken the transportation and logistics segment of our local economy to a whole new level.
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