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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 M A R C H 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 For a daily digest of Maine's top busi- ness news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is some of the best from our online-only offerings: Featured @ Mainebiz.biz Former Great Northern mill under new ownership — again The former home of the Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket is under new ownership, as a Boca Raton, Fla., company specializing in demolishing out-of-date properties pur- chased the building for an undisclosed amount. Find more out about the pur- chase at mainebiz.biz/greatnorth Portland's Apothecary By Design makes Midwest expansion Specialty pharmacy Apothecary By Design announced that it has pur- chased Healy Pharmacy of Warrenville, Ill. The purchase is the first expansion outside of Maine for Apothecary, and also follows the February sale of its Portland retail location to a group of local partners that included co-founder Joe Lorello. Read more about the expansion at mainebiz.biz/abd An additional 200 jobs are headed to Brunswick Landing Less than one month after Boston-based home furnishing store Wayfair said that it would be bring- ing 500 jobs to Brunswick Landing, SaviLinx has announced that it would be hiring an additional 200 employees at its call center location at the busi- ness campus. Read more about the new jobs at mainebiz.biz/linx From the Editor W e've seen in Maine that leaders come from all kinds of backgrounds. e three people we have named as our 2016 Business Leaders of the Year seem to defy stereotypes. Yes, Maine is known for having an older population. But that doesn't necessarily mean they ditch their ambi- tions, vision, business knowledge, entrepreneurial spirit and bootstrapping moxie at an over-55 housing commu- nity. (Full disclosure: I'm squarely in that demographic.) Yet we also have a business leader of a younger generation. He is a Maine native, went away to Boston for college and came back, raring to start a business. And, surprise, we fi nd that to really grow his business, he was sage enough to seek out leaders who had dealt with the same challenges. Among some stellar nominations, Mainebiz looked closely at what each leader had done, not just over a career, but within the past year. Rodney McCrum, president and COO of Pineland Farms Potato Co. Inc. in Mars Hill, was born and raised in Aroostook County and saw that selling potatoes in a 10-pound bag was no way to keep e County's potato industry alive. He staked his future and a lot of his own money and other people's to a new way of production — cre- ating a product that can go directly to the table at Applebee's. Along the way, the company has invested millions of dollars in operations and become a leading employer in e County. Danielle Ripich, president of the University of New England, leads a uni- versity that has blazed a trail even as Maine's high school population continues to decline. She's started colleges, expanded programs to prepare students for the workplace and, most recently, gotten signifi cant funding from the Gates Foundation for new programs. Joshua Davis, CEO and co-founder of Gelato Fiasco, is the young gun here, but he's taking an old-fashioned approach to business, fi nding and expanding a market for an "emotional" product, while creating jobs in the process. We think you'll enjoy their stories. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Recently, it was my honor to announce that SaviLinx will be hiring an additional 200 agents this spring. It is a milestone for us made possible by many, including the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which encouraged us to set up shop at Brunswick Landing; the Brunswick Town Council and the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber; our state and federal delegations and especially to U.S. Sen. Angus King, who more than a decade ago as governor laid the groundwork for busi- nesses like SaviLinx to thrive here and who today contin- ues to support small businesses at the federal level. I am grateful to Mainebiz for covering our announce- ment. ank you, too, to readers who shared our news by word of mouth or via social media, and every Facebook follower and tweet! Our announcement that a current client is expanding its work with SaviLinx is a testament that our strategy to acquire both government and commercial contracts is working; that our staff is knowledgeable, skilled and reli- able; and that our management team is solid. Our people are our most valuable asset! Maine is my home. I remain steadfast to growing SaviLinx here. As SaviLinx's CEO and founder, I am both humbled and grateful for the collective eff orts that made our announcement possible and the generosity of those people who shared in the moment and the news. ank you. Heather D. Blease Founder and CEO SaviLinx, Brunswick To the Editor Business leaders with moxie bernsteinshur.com CELEBRATING 1OO YEARS Be ready. BE SHUR. When you need outside legal counsel that feels like par t of your team.

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