Bixby & Co. founder Kate McAleer was one of six business owners in the state recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Maine office in its lineup of awards for 2015.
Fellow Rockland business owner Heidi Vanorse Neal, who bought the pet supply store Loyal Biscuit Co. and has since expanded to multiple locations the midcoast and central Maine.
Evan Carroll and Sasha Salzburg, who founded the Portland-based BILD Architecture, were named Micro-enterprise of the Year for Maine and New England. Paula and Stephen Farrar, who founded the Charlotte-based Done Roving Yarns, were named the Home-based Business Champions for Maine and New England.
The Maine SBA also gave the following awards:
—Veteran-owned Small Business Champion: Carl Smith, CEO of the Caribou-based Virtual Managed Solutions.
—Women in Business Champion: Deborah Gustin, president of the Presque Isle-based Irish Setter Pub.
—Small Business Exporter of the Year: Thomas Adams, owner of the York-based Maine Coast Shellfish.
—Financial Services Champion: Jaimie Logan, governor’s account executive with the Department of Economic and Community Development.
All of the award recipients will attend an awards ceremony at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester on May 5.