🔒Recognizing the best

I think successfully navigating change and controversy are key hallmarks of a good leader. Pretty much anyone can steer the ship when the waters are calm and sight lines uncluttered. But throw in some swells and hurricane-force winds and everything changes.

That's why our 2013 Business Leaders of Year are such good choices. Each has stared adversity in the face and persevered.

I remember when Sara Burns, CEO of Central Maine Power Co. and our large company Business Leader of the Year, was making the rounds at newspaper editorial boards a few years ago to drum up support for the Maine Power Reliability Program. The price tag — $1.4 billion — made me gasp. But the prospect of large power outages rolling over a period of years was just as daunting.

Now, halfway through the five-year project, our electricity network is more secure, and with it, our ability to do business. I remember at the time there were a lot of renewable energy advocates questioning the need for the reliability program. I agree in the long term we need to diversify our electricity portfolio, but given the slow pace and development costs of wind and tidal projects, I'm relieved the CMP project is out of the gate. And if you ever saw Sara Burns take on opponents to the plan, you know its existence is directly attributable to her tenacity and smarts. Her profile starts on page 14.

Dana Totman, our nonprofit Business Leader of the Year and CEO of Avesta Housing, knows what it's like to be in the middle of controversy. Two years ago, affordable housing had a huge target on its back — the result of an investigation by the Norway Advertiser-Democrat that exposed incompetence by managers of some affordable housing complexes in Oxford County. The ensuing brouhaha pitted the governor and the state treasurer against the head of MaineHousing, and shone a spotlight on affordable housing operations around the state.

Rather than avoid the scrutiny, Dana Totman used it as an opportunity to reassess the organization's procedures and its system of checks and balances, taking corrective action where needed. Isn't that what you'd want someone to do if they were responsible for providing safe shelter for your elderly grandmother or that young couple just starting out? His profile starts on page 22.

And finally, I must confess a soft spot for David Desjardins, CEO of Acadia Federal Credit Union, and our small company Business Leader of the Year. Not only because of his relentless work and advocacy on behalf of the people in the St. John Valley, but also because there's an air of familiarity about him — my dad was a longtime credit union manager. If Dad came home from work grouchy, it was usually because auditors were gumming up the works.

I asked Dave whether auditors give him a hard time and he laughed. He's mastered his explanation to auditors who question his refusal to, for instance, repossess a car when the owner is late on payments.

"But if you repossess the car, he has no means to keep a job," says Dave. "At least if he's making some kind of regular payment you still have the chance to keep him employed and that increases your chances of getting the loan paid off."

My dad would be proud.

Dave's profile starts on page 18.

And if you're as inspired by our Business Leaders of the Year as much as I am, join us May 9 as we recognize them with a reception at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta. Register here.