Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. I X M AY 5 , 2 0 2 0 6 Corrections, from the Vermont State Police and from Reporters Without Borders USA, among others, the asso- ciation's executive director, Lisa Martin, told Mainebiz. Calls have also poured in from entities in Maine, includ- ing the island town of North Haven, she said. "e entire country is look- ing toward Maine as being one place that has so much coordinated effort and responsiveness," she said. e calls started when Steve Smith, CEO of L.L.Bean Inc., was on CNBC to talk about the Freeport-based retailer's efforts to produce face masks for health care workers. L.L.Bean subsequently referred the non-medical callers to the Manufacturers Association of Maine and the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, said Martin. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced that Maine received a $9.3 million block grant to support K-12 and post- secondary education in the state as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was awarded through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund, a program authorized by the CARES Act. Collins said Maine was also awarded a total of $5.1 mil- lion through the Administration for Community Living for several programs to support seniors and individuals with disabilities amid the COVID-19 pandem- ic and teamed up with U.S. Sen. Angus King to announce the state received an additional $5.1 million to support the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases cooperative agreement that was included in the CARES Act. Bus service resumes in Saco- Biddeford area e public transit agency serving Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach planned to resume operations May 1, a month after shutting down after two reported COVID-19 cases among its employees. BSOOB Transit said in a letter last week that it has dis- infected its buses and two office loca- tions, and implemented new safety and B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Granola makers at GrandyOats headline SBA's annual awards B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f The owners of GrandyOats in Hiram have been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2020 Small Business Persons of the Year for Maine. The selection was one of 10 honors given to Maine busi- nesspeople by the SBA. GrandyOats, owned by Nat Peirce and Aaron Anker, is a maker of certified organic granola, trail mix, roasted nuts and hot cereal. Its products are distributed through retail and wholesale channels nationwide. All products are made in small batches at GrandyOats' solar-powered bakery. It is the largest employer in the Oxford County town of Hiram, with 35 workers. Peirce and Anker were nominated for the award by Terry Trickey of Bangor Savings Bank. "We are proud to be Maine business owners and are honored to receive this award," Peirce and Anker said in a joint statement. "The SBA and Bangor Savings Bank have been true partners to GrandyOats and an integral part of our growth. We are grateful for our hardworking team members and committed customers, who allow us to continue on this amazing adventure." In 2015, the duo was named to Mainebiz's NEXT list. "Our annual awards are our opportunity to recognize the amazing work being done by Maine's small businesses, and GrandyOats truly stands out," Amy Bassett, SBA's district director for Maine, said in the release. "We are especially thrilled to honor a business that has shown a great dedica- tion to its community, providing good jobs and economic opportunity in rural Maine." Peirce bought the company, founded in 1979 in Farmington, in 1997. In 1998, Peirce brought on Anker, a friend from col- lege. An key early customer was Bread and Circus, which was acquired by Whole Foods in 1992 but operated under its own name for more than a decade. Eventually, GrandyOats' for- tunes grew alongside those of Whole Foods, which expanded aggressively in the New England market. Other SBA awards Young entrepreneur: Maddie Purcell, founder of Fyood Kitchen in Portland. She was a 2018 Mainebiz NEXT List honoree. Maine and New England Home-Based Business of the Year: Sarah Lapine, Watershed Floral of Pownal Maine and New England Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year: Gregory Greuel, Wayside Publishing of Freeport Maine Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year: Joel and Melissa Gilbert, Berry Fruit Farm of Livermore Falls Maine Small Business Exporter of the Year: Jodi Ann Breau, Dental Lace of Cape Elizabeth Maine Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year: Karen Gellis, Swim Lids of Saco Maine Minority Owned Small Business of the Year: Mariama Jallow, Mariama's Beauty Supply of Portland Maine Micro-Enterprise of the Year: Robyn and Mike Sealander, Sealander Studio of Ellsworth Maine Small Business Manufacturer of the Year: Heather Lux, True North Beauty of Milo Maine Financial Services Champion of the Year: Glen Holmes, Community Concepts Finance Corp. B R I E F P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Aaron Anker Aaron Anker, left, and , left, and Nat Peirce Nat Peirce, owners of , owners of GrandyOats GrandyOats in Hiram, were named the in Hiram, were named the U.S. U.S. Small Business Administration's 2020 Small Small Business Administration's 2020 Small Business Persons of the Year Business Persons of the Year for Maine. for Maine. A second wave of PPP loans Maine banks and credit unions were expected to quickly go through a second round of lending, with $320 billion in federal relief money going into the second round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. e U.S. Small Business Administration bailout program for employers hurt by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis was extended after its $349 billion initial budget was quickly exhausted. e SBA's Maine District Office said that in the initial round of funding, which ended April 16, nearly 15,000 applications in Maine were approved for almost $2 billion through nearly 150 lending institutions. e average PPP loan was $133,333, which the SBA said will help the busi- nesses survive and meet their upcoming eight weeks of payroll cost. Protective face masks in demand e Manufacturers Association of Maine has been inundated by calls from around the country, seeking informa- tion about who's making protective face masks — but the callers aren't just hospitals and health care organiza- tions. Calls have come from the FBI, from a town in Georgia that wanted masks for its population of 2,000, from the New Hampshire National Guard, from the Rhode Island Department of

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