PRESQUE ISLE — A business that may not even be in existence if not for the “Great Ice Storm of ‘98” and its owner have been honored as the 2013 Aroostook Entrepreneur of the Year by LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development and Momentum Aroostook.
At an awards dinner Thursday evening at Northern Maine Community College, David Harbison, the owner of Bison Pumps in Houlton, topped two other finalists to win the award.
Bison Pumps was established in 1999, following the ice storm, which left millions without power from New York to central Maine. David Harbison and his crew at Harbison Plumbing and Heating developed a hand pump for wells that can be used when power goes out. The product and eventually other models were developed and are now sold around the world via the Internet. Harbison, with his son Jon, has built Harbison Plumbing and Heating into a company with more than 20 full-time employees with a portfolio, which includes plumbing and heating contracting, metal fabrication/Manufacturing and real estate holdings, but it is Bison Pumps that has brought the most attention to the company, having been featured on television, in newspapers and magazines.
Andrew Birden of Fiddlehead Focus was selected as first runner-up. Fred Grant of Northern Maine Media Inc., which operates WHOU 101.1, was named the second runner-up Other nominees included: Michael and Emily Carpenter, owners of Carriages of Acadia, Inc. based in Houlton; William Tasker, director of Caribou Chamber of Commerce; Dale and Mark Chamberland, Aroostook Woodsmiths and R.F. Chamberland Inc. St. Agatha; Cathy Duffy Cullins, owner Progressive Realty in Caribou; and Shawn Pelletier owner C.S. Management, Pelletier Property Services, Salar Storage North and Washburn Street Storage.
A panel of six judges, one representing each of the sponsors, LEAD and Momentum Aroostook, and the supporting organizations, Husson University, Northern Maine Community College, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle, selected the finalists and the ultimate winner.
