Staples donates $10,000 to center

BANGOR – The founder and board chairman of Staples Inc., undaunted by corporate scandals affecting some of his contemporaries, kicked off a national “give back” tour here Thursday with a $10,000 donation to the International Enterprise Center.

Tom Stemberg, who started the office supply superstore chain in 1988 in Massachusetts, said the idea of contributing money to entrepreneurial projects in communities where his stores are located was conceived last year before most of the accounting irregularities were made public in a number of major corporations, but not his.

Staples has 1,400 stores and $11 billion in sales.

Stemberg said he welcomes a new corporate reform law that forces the nation’s chief executive officers to sign statements certifying that their companies’ financial statements are accurate. He added he’s disgusted that the actions of a handful of irresponsible corporate executives have tainted the reputations of all corporate leaders.

“It’s unfortunate that some of these greedy egomaniacs have hogged the headlines like they have,” Stemberg said.

In an event at Bangor City Hall, Stemberg handed over two checks totaling $10,000 to BanAir Corp. president Scott Johnson. BanAir Corp. is the parent of the 22-year-old enterprise center, which is a 25,000-square-foot building near Bangor International Airport that houses offices for startup businesses. Stemberg also presented Johnson the first-ever Tom Stemberg Award for excellence in support of local entrepreneurs.

Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who is on Staples’ board of directors and a lobbyist for the company, joined Stemberg at the check presentation. Afterward, Mitchell said he thinks the new corporate reform law “is a step in the right direction,” but he wants to see how it plays out before he will suggest any revisions.

Mitchell, who sits on at least eight corporate boards, is not seeking re-election to a number of them because he said he does not have the time. He said his plans to leave the boards were made last year.

Mitchell remains on the boards of Walt Disney Co. and FedEx, but he is leaving Xerox and UnumProvident. Mitchell also is part owner of the Boston Red Sox.