[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12772-S12773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING PENOBSCOT BAY MEDIA, LLC

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to a small 
company in my home State of Maine, run by a female service-disabled 
veteran, that has made remarkable strides in the information technology 
industry, and particularly in robotics. Penobscot Bay Media, LLC--known 
to most as Pen Bay Media--is headquartered in Camden, on Maine's 
beautiful coast, where it specializes in the development of information 
visualization solutions by using geographic information systems, GIS, 
interactive distance learning, and other similar technologies. For 
example, Pen Bay has developed a type of

[[Page S12773]]

robot that has the capability to detect environmental hazards, thereby 
protecting first responders and potentially saving lives.
  A retired Navy officer who served in Vietnam, CAPT Ann S. Yahner 
helped found Pen Bay Media in 1999, along with current partners Stuart 
Rich, David Berez, and her husband Frank, a retired U.S. Marine. Today, 
Mrs. Yahner serves as president and general manager. I will never 
forget when, in response to her concerns over a ``brain drain'' in 
Maine, Mrs. Yahner sent a letter to MG John Libby, the adjutant general 
of the Maine National Guard, offering to employ qualified returning 
veterans from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan at Pen Bay. Overall, Pen 
Bay employs 28 people, and has nearly doubled its workforce since the 
beginning of 2006. Mrs. Yahner's determination to hire and partner with 
veterans is a solid example of the kind of consistent opportunity we 
need to extend to those who protect us so admirably.
  Pen Bay Media has a long history of successful project experience 
with government clients. It is one of 45 prime companies in the United 
States, and the only New England company to be awarded the Veterans 
Technology Services Government-wide Acquisition Contract. As a result 
of this esteemed designation, Pen Bay Media will be eligible to compete 
for a share of contracts worth $5 billion over the next 10 years. In 
addition, Pen Bay has received countless awards and accolades since its 
inception. Most recently, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, 
ESRI, honored Pen Bay with its prestigious Special Achievement in 
Geographic Information System's award. For embracing GIS technology 
through its work with the New York City Bureau of Environmental 
Sciences and Engineering, ESRI recognized Pen Bay for its 
``extraordinary contributions to our global society.'' According to 
ESRI, Pen Bay stood out from more than 300,000 organizations worldwide 
that use GIS software to enhance its clients' safety.
  In its 8 years of operation, Pen Bay Media has excelled, finding a 
creative niche within one of the Nation's fastest-growing industries. 
What makes Mrs. Yahner's accomplishments all the more impressive is 
that, according to the Small Business Administration, only 32 percent 
of disabled veteran business owners are women. Ann Yahner's courageous 
military service and tremendous contributions to small business are 
commendable and a great lesson that we can all succeed. I thank Ann 
Yahner and everyone at Pen Bay Media for the crucial work that they do, 
and I wish them continued success and prestige in the years to 
come.

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