By Charlotte Boynton
U.S. Sen. Angus King (right) tours the headquarters of award-winning small business Eldertide LLC in Dresden on Monday, Aug. 4. From left:Maine Technology Institute President Robert Martin, Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Seth Goodall, Eldertide owner Edie Johnston, Eldertide Director of Operations George Johnston, and King. (Charlotte Boynton photo) |
U.S. Sen. Angus King and other dignitaries gathered at Phil and Edie Johnston’s home on Route 27 in Dresden on Aug. 4, to recognize the success of Eldertide LLC, the small business founded in that home in 2007.
Eldertide founder Edie Johnston was presented the 2014 Tibbets Award in Washington, D.C. in June by the U.S. Small Business Administration for the company’s technological innovation in the nutraceutical field. The Tibbetts Award is named for Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing the Small Business Innovation Research Program.
King, Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Seth Goodall and Maine Technology Institute President Robert Martin were among the guests to honor Eldertide on receiving the award.
The business is in its eighth year. Located in the upstairs of the Johnston home, it produces an antioxidant-rich syrup from the growth of organic elderberries, organic elderflower, and organic wild blueberries that grow on Edie Johnston’s farm. The syrup is used to boost the immune system.
Edie Johnston’s son George, the director of operations, is her right-hand man. During the ceremony honoring the success of the business, George said the syrup can be used on pancakes and ice cream, and that its recommended use is about a teaspoon a day.
“If you support your immune system, you will be less likely to get sick,” Edie Johnston said.
The business currently produces about 1,000 bottles a week, with Federal Express coming to the home once a day to pick up and deliver orders of the syrup, sometimes twice a day.
According to the Johnstons, the product is sold throughout the country in countless health food stores.
The business has outgrown the upstairs of the Johnston home and will soon move to the mill in Richmond, overlooking the Kennebec River. The business currently has three full-time employees and three part-time employees and plans to add two more. With the move to the larger facility, the Johnstons expect to produce about 5,000 bottles a week.
“The real growth in the American economy is coming from small businesses like the Johnstons’,” King said. “Maine people have a strong tradition of perseverance and creativity.”
“These are the people you would call on if your horse fell into the well,” King said to laughter from the crowd. “That is sort of what Maine is all about.”
King presented Edie Johnston with a copy of a statement he submitted to the Congressional Record of July 30, 2014 commending the company.
“We have many small businesses in Maine,” King said in the statement. “Mrs. Edie Johnston and Eldertide LLC is certainly one of them.”
“I am proud to join in recognizing their creativity and dedication,” King said. “I expect they will continue to impress us – both in Maine and around the world – with their superb nutraceuticals.”
Following the presentation King and other guests were invited to tour the home where the product is made and the grounds where the elderberries are grown.
Eldertide LLC was one of 25 winners announced in this year’s Tibbetts Award, and the only small business in Maine to receive the award this year.
