[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 190 (Wednesday, December 12, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S15230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JOHN MASSAUA

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I recognize a man who has gone 
above and beyond for the State of Maine and the country as a whole. On 
December 31 of this year, John Massaua will step down from his position 
as the State director for the Maine Small Business Development Centers, 
SBDCs.
  John joined the Maine SBDC as State director just over 6 years ago, 
with a rare blend of private sector and nonprofit experience. I 
remember learning about John's background as a founding officer of 
Staples and becoming excited at the prospect of what he could do for a 
program that had long underachieved.
  After more than 6 years as State director for the Maine SBDC, John's 
retirement will be a loss to Maine's 151,000 small businesses. For a 
program that counseled over 2,500 clients for more than 14,000 hours 
last year, replacing his leadership will prove to be a difficult 
challenge. John has demonstrated an unsurpassed dedication to his job, 
as reflected by the fact that the Maine SBDC returns $3.30 annually to 
the Federal Government for each Federal dollar invested.
  During John's tenure, the Maine SBDC achieved national recognition as 
an effective and worthwhile investment of taxpayer dollars. The Maine 
SBDC, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary, has helped create or 
retain 15,000 jobs and assisted 2,650 entrepreneurs in starting a 
business. Since its inception, the Maine SBDCs have provided one-on-one 
counseling to over 42,000 entrepreneurs, including over 200,000 hours 
of direct assistance and 3,000 workshops and courses. There is no doubt 
in my mind that Maine's nationally recognized program came of age under 
John's tutelage, and I will always be thankful that he built something 
of which the State of Maine can be proud.
  John's personal accomplishments and awards that the Maine SBDC 
received over the past 6 years are far too numerous to count--for 
example, during John's tenure he personally received the Thomas A. 
McGillicuddy Award for Excellence, the Maine SBDC was a recipient of 
the prestigious Margaret Chase Smith Quality Award, the Best of the Web 
Award, and in 2003 the Maine SBDC became only the fourth program in 4 
years to earn the ``T'' designation from the Association of Small 
Business Development Centers. This national accreditation authorizes 
the Maine SBDC to formally provide technology support to Maine's small 
businesses and independent workers.
  During the time that John was developing a program with a national 
reputation for regional excellence at the Maine SBDC, he also helped 
SBDCs on the national level through the Association of Small Business 
Development Centers, ASBDC. The ASBDC is an association which 
represents the collective interests of SBDCs throughout the country, 
and on numerous occasions John was selected to serve on their board and 
within its various committees.
  Not only was John beneficial to Maine's small business communities, 
but he was a vital resource to me and my staff. I specifically remember 
one instance, when in 2005, John testified before the Senate Committee 
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship about the financial burden the 
63 State, regional, and territorial SBDCs were under. As expected, John 
provided a well researched and persuasive argument as to why Congress 
should provide additional funds to this vital and successful program. 
Due in large part to John's testimony and dedicated activism, we are 
finally starting to see a commitment from Congress to provide more 
funds to the SBDC program. For this, John should always be remembered 
and duly credited.
  The State of Maine and small businesses across the country owe a debt 
of gratitude to John Massaua for his work to protect and improve 
something as crucial as the Small Business Development Center program. 
Although he will be missed, I applaud John's years of commitment and 
hard work in providing entrepreneurs with the management and 
professional expertise required to achieve success. I sincerely hope 
that John and I can continue to work together ensuring that Maine 
maintains a leading role in assisting our Nation's most committed and 
creative small businesses.




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