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 …