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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 1 9 , 2 0 1 8 For a daily digest of Maine's top business 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 From the Editor W henever Mainebiz honors area business lead- ers some common traits emerge. For our Business Leaders of the Year, we look for top executives who have created a growing, endur- ing business; demonstrated outstanding leadership over a period of years; shown compassion in work- ing with employees and the community. Particularly in the past year, the three honorees also showed that good ideas, energy and good old- fashioned hard work have not gone out of style. Our three honorees: Joshua Broder, CEO, Tilson: In the past year, Tilson, which provides a range of IT services, moved into a new headquarters in Portland. Under Broder, it continues to grow, with a headcount of 400 employees, including 100 in Maine. Its sales revenue is expected to grow to $77 million this year, up from $36 million in 2016. Kathie Leonard, president and CEO, Auburn Manufacturing Inc.: Leonard was among the original class of the Mainebiz Women to Watch in 200, and she indeed has set the pace in her indus- try, producing fi reproof materials used in protective gear. She launched the company in 17, touting a product that replaced asbestos. But what caught our attention this year was two things. She went to battle over trade guidelines, taking a stand against dumping by Chinese manufacturers, helping win an International Trade Commission ruling. Locally, she recognized that her company's wages had fallen behind even area big-box stores. She changed that, off ering employees a raise of $2 an hour. Steve Levesque, executive director Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority / Brunswick Landing: Levesque has led what to many was the ultimate uphill battle: Bringing life to a former Navy base, which created a loss of thousands of employees and a 3,200-acre hole in the regional economy. As Levesque points out, when a paper mill closes people usually stay in the community; when a Navy base closes, most of the government personnel is moved elsewhere. Yet Levesque seems to relish the fi ght, hav- ing recruited 105 companies, which in turn have created 1,620 jobs, and a total of $350 million in capital investment. Companies continue to hire workers We continue to hear about the need for qualifi ed work- ers in Maine. Just in recent days, we've gotten news releases from accounting fi rms, media fi rms and others touting new employee growth. A couple of examples: ¡ Berry Dunn, the Portland-based accounting fi rm, has hired 14 people in the past three months. Eight of the employees are in Portland, while the others were placed at other offi ces. Berry Dunn is in fi ve states. Overall, it has 350 employees. ¡ Diversifi ed Communications, a Portland-based media company with an array of businesses worldwide, hired four people for its home offi ce. ¡ Scanning our In Short section, you get a better idea of who is being hired at law fi rms, banks, architec- ture fi rms, engineering fi rms and nonprofi ts. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Good old-fashioned hard work Sebago Brewing's new digs The 30,000-square-foot two-story building at 616 Main St., west of downtown Gorham, is the culmi- nation of a lot of hard work over Sebago Brewing Co.'s 20-year history. Two-thirds of the two-story building holds the brewery. The rest — about 6,000 square feet — is a tasting room, with woodfire kitchen, as well as Sebago's offices. mainebiz.biz/sebagobrewing Mining tests seen as promising Wolfden Resources Corp., a mineral explora- tion company based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, has said initial mineral find- ings on Pickett Mountain, which it bought last year, are positive. The company bought the Penobscot County mountain after the Legislature passed a law last year regulating metals mining. mainebiz.biz/metalsmining Pivotal case challenges online retailers The Retail Association of Maine, advocating on behalf of brick-and-mortar retailers, is supporting a "friend of the court" brief filed by its national trade group in a South Dakota lawsuit filed against Boston- based online home goods retailer Wayfair. The case, South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., Overstock.com Inc. and Newegg Inc., asks the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the question of whether retailers with "no physical presence" in a given state are exempt from collect- ing state sales tax. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on April 17 in what could be a pivotal decision in the decades-long debate on whether online retail activity should be exempt from sales taxes. mainebiz.biz/Wayfairlawsuit Be ready. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you need outside legal counsel that feels like par t of your team. These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business These three Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that Leaders of the Year show that good old-fashioned hard work has not gone out of style.

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