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Small-Business Champion

HERMON – Harrison Clark’s activities to help improve the climate for small business in Maine have been described as much like a farmer working with brush and boulders, “clearing away the obstacles that impede success for numerous present and future small businesses.”

For those actions, and his other community activities, Clark has been named the 2006 Maine Small Business Champion by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The award is given annually in all 50 states by NFIB to recognize small-business owners who go the extra mile to help other Main Street businesses.

“Harrison Clark is one of those people I can always count on to help me in my work for NFIB,” said David Clough, Maine state director for NFIB. “He has been a tremendous asset, especially on health care issues.”

Clark, owner of ServiceMaster Contract Services of Hermon, has been an NFIB member for 22 years and serves on NFIB’s Leadership Council and Bangor Area Action Council. Clark is active in his local Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee and Bangor area politics.

The National Federation of Independent Business is the state and nation’s largest small-business advocacy group. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of 600,000 members.

For information on NFIB/Maine, visit www.NFIB.com/me

Technology seed grants

The Maine Technology Institute board of directors approved 21 seed grants to technology companies across Maine. More than $200,000 was awarded, leveraging more than $320,000 from other sources. Thirteen of the 21 awardees are new award winners. Company locations range from Presque Isle to Sanford.

Local companies receiving seed grants are:

. Mainely Sensors in Orono, which will determine the feasibility of a portable lateral-field excited acoustic wave sensor capable of measuring in situ the saxitoxin concentration in shellfish due to red tide.

. Old Town Canoe in Old Town, which will collaborate with the University of Maine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center to develop and test new composite material lay-ups to optimize the performance and production costs of their new line of composite canoes and kayaks.

. Zeomatrix LLC in Orono, which is developing an environmental technology product to be used for odor control of animal waste lagoons. The proposed project will study whether a shellfish by-product can be incorporated into the prototype design in order to improve performance and reduce cost to manufacture.

MTI seed grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 per project and are offered on a competitive basis to support early activities for product development, commercialization or business planning and development. A company may be awarded up to $25,000 in seed grants for a specific project.

Each seed grant requires a one-to-one match in cash, salaries, staff time or equipment directly attributable to the proposed project. Seed grants are awarded six times a year.

The application deadline for the next round is June 15. Info about seed grants is available at www.mainetechnology.org.

Employee recognition

BREWER – UPS honored Rita Gilbert recently for completing 20 years of service with the company. Gilbert of Hampden is a customer counter clerk at the UPS office in Brewer. She began her career with the company as counter clerk in 1986.

Alan Riling of Levant was honored recently for completing 20 years of service with UPS. Riling, a driver with UPS in Brewer, began his career with the company in 1986 as a night sorter.

New limos

HAMPDEN – Blue Hill Limousine Service in Hampden announced that it has acquired three new limousines.

A 14-passenger Ford Excursion stretch SUV limo features televisions, a VIP lounge, a rosewood bar and fiber optic light display.

A Lincoln limo is equipped with a fifth, extra-large door for easy access by women dressed in bridal finery. A third vehicle, a Lincoln Town Car Livery sedan, has ports for laptop computers and a flipdown desk.

To learn more about the limousine service, call 942-6682.

Landcare Network

BREWER – David Vachon, employed by Trugreen Chemlawn, has joined the Professional Landcare Network. The association provides ongoing educational and safety programs and features a national certification program giving members the knowledge and technical expertise to perform their jobs in a professional manner.

For more information, call (800) 395-2522, or visit www.landcarenetwork.org.

Sustainable business conference

PORTLAND – Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility will present its annual Spring Sustainable Business Conference 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday June 1, at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center.

The daylong conference, Investing In Ourselves, features nationally recognized business leaders Amy Domini, founder and president of Domini Social Investments and the “mother” of socially-responsible investing; Steve Voigt, president and CEO of the King Arthur Flour Co. and chairman of the Employee Stock Ownership Plans Association; and two dozen local business leaders pioneering sustainable business practices.

The keynote addresses will explore innovative and forward-thinking approaches to the old business concepts of investments and ownership.

Eight workshops will investigate topics from lean manufacturing to green chemistry, sustainable tourism and balancing local and global economies.

The public is invited to attend. Cost is $150 for MEBSR members, $175 for others. Scholarships are available. Space is limited and reservations are required.

For information, visit www.mebsr.org, or call 338-8908. The event is sponsored by Central Maine Power Co., MEMIC, Moss Inc. and Mainebiz.