Society Notebook: Construction industry leaders named Maine business hall of famers

Four hundred Maine business professionals attended Junior Achievement’s Maine Business Hall of Fame dinner Nov. 4 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay to honor two construction industry professionals: Ellen L. Belknap, principal of SMRT Architects & Engineers, and Peter “Andi” Vigue, chairman and CEO of The Cianbro Companies.

The stories of the 2024 inductees have several points in common: Both Belknap and Vigue have dedicated their career to a single company that they have led to exponential growth. They both started at the bottom of the career ladder: Belknap joined SMRT as an intern architect and never left. Likewise, Vigue started as a summer construction worker – though his connection to Cianbro goes back to his father, who preceded him as president of the company.

“My dad would take me to work with him when I wasn’t in school,” he said, showing a photo of his 6-year-old self behind a company plate compactor.

Both honorees clearly love what they do and where they live – Belknap and her husband raising two sons in Portland, and Vigue and his wife raising a son and a daughter in Pittsfield, the Somerset County town where he was born and has served as mayor. Both also emphasized teamwork – that none of their accomplishments are theirs alone.

“The ultimate team project for me and all-time career high was the MaineGeneral Alfond Center for Health in Augusta,” Belknap said. “This was a new hospital that reshaped how health care was delivered in the region with a real focus on a positive patient experience and shaping an environment where caregivers, doctors, nurses and staff could do their best work. Design through purpose has always been my purpose. The project took five years to design and construct. It was patient-centered, energy-efficient, and we delivered ahead of schedule and under budget.”

Other iconic examples of Belknap’s work include the Mercy Fore River campus in Portland and L.L. Bean Headquarters in Freeport. During her 20 years as president, SMRT became the largest architectural engineering firm in Maine and one of the largest in northern New England. Belknap passed the president baton to Bradley Hodges in January, allowing her to focus on project work and community partnerships. “I can’t think of anything more gratifying than to be able to use design to make a difference,” she said.

Cianbro, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is one of the nation’s largest employee-owned construction and construction services companies. “I wake up each morning thinking about the 3,500 people that I work for and what my focus needs to be to support them and their efforts,” Vigue said. “We are one team, one company.”

With more than 50 corporate sponsors, led by Central Maine Power and MEMIC, the Maine Business Hall of Fame dinner raised $297,000 for Junior Achievement of Maine.

“As the bridge between classroom and workplace, Junior Achievement focuses on life skills, like how to build financial stability, how to prepare for a job or career and how to start a business and work and lead a team,” said Michelle Anderson, president and CEO. “Whether it’s in the classroom, a job shadow experience, a career speaker panel or competing as a CEO in Titan, JA mentors open so many students’ eyes to the possibilities and pathways that await them when they graduate.”

Junior Achievement brings free programs to K-12 schools throughout Maine with the help of 800 volunteers per year. The nonprofit’s long-term vision is to build an experiential learning center in southern Maine and a mobile pop-up to reach students statewide. This center and pop-up will bring the JA BizTown and JA Finance Park learning experiences to life, simulating a city for students to apply real-world skills and showcasing career pathways.

Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer and photographer based in Scarborough. She can be reached at amyparadysz@gmail.com.

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