BANGOR – When Bion Foster bought the Lucerne Inn more than seven years ago, his biggest concern was how to make the picturesque wooden structure profitable.

Every year since then, “we haven’t missed a tick,” Foster said this week. “We’ve been up every year.”

Foster’s efforts, and that of the staff which has grown from 23 to 52 during the same time period, has earned the owner the Finance Authority of Maine’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. Foster received the honor at FAME’s annual dinner recently.

Foster also was acknowledged for helping the town of Hampden, where he lives, to “chart a new direction for its economic future,” according to a statement released by FAME.

“Most importantly, Mr. Foster has shown a regional focus and has spent three decades creating jobs, increasing property values and changing people’s attitudes about investing in central and eastern Maine,” said Charles J. Spies III, chief executive officer of FAME.

The Lucerne Inn has the ambiance of an old, New England family house, with views, furnishings, meals and guest rooms that make people feel at home, Foster said. From an operational standpoint, the inn’s staff – including the owner – needed to treat its customers, suppliers, contractors and others with the same kind of respect that they would treat their family, he said.

“If you do that, the bottom line will take care of itself,” Foster said.

Bookings for the next year, for anything from wedding receptions to business meetings to family gatherings, are up from those received by this time last year, he said.

“It’s going to be a busy year,” he said.

Foster was nominated for the award by Bangor Savings Bank.

Other award winners were:

. Joseph P. Derouche, president of the River Valley Growth Council, named 2001 Economic Developer of the Year;

. Kennebec Savings Bank, named 2001 Maine Bank of the Year;

. Wayne H. Ross, president of Southern Maine Technical College, honored with the 2001 Distinguished Service Award;

. David H. Cambridge, vice president of commercial services at Katahdin Trust Co., a Dirigo Award;

. Lindsay J. Shepard, commercial loan officer at Peoples Heritage Bank, a Dirigo Award.

The Dirigo Award for Outstanding Achievement in Higher Education was awarded to a group of individuals who transformed the Maine State Grant Program into a high-tech, Web-based financial aid delivery system.

Included in that group are:

. Christopher Bell, senior associate director of financial aid at the University of Maine at Presque Isle;

. Michael J. Clements, data administrator-programmer, University of Maine;

. Jennifer F. Hutchinson, senior associate director of financial aid, University of Maine at Farmington;

. Lewis H. Miller, assistant director of financial aid, Eastern Maine Technical College;

. Helen F.M. Parker, director of financial aid systems, University of Southern Maine;

. Evangeline R. Richard, director of financial aid, Kennebec Valley Technical College; and

. Cynthia W. Wells, director of student financial services, Colby College.