The Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce welcomed over 250 people, including Sen. Angus King via Skype, and handed out three community awards at its annual awards dinner May 22 at Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant.

As the attendees settled in their seats for the buffet dinner and waited for the audio and visual Skype connection with Sen. King in Washington, D.C., Pamela Riley, president of the Chamber's board, and Catherine Wygant-Fossett, welcomed the businesses and their representatives.

Sen. King spoke for about 10 minutes. He talked about the work going on in Washington and visiting the Boothbay region for many years from his home in Georgetown. He also invited everyone to Washington, especially on Wednesday mornings when they hold a public coffee discussion with fresh blueberry muffins.

“I'm trying to get the Chinese to take an interest in Maine blueberry muffins,” King said. “If they each ate one blueberry muffin a day, then the country's economic woes would be solved.”

After a delicious buffet served up by chef John Reed and his staff and dinner music provided by the four-piece band, Jones 'n', Chamber volunteers and board members were asked to stand and be recognized.

Keynote speaker was Kerem Durdag, CEO of Biovation II, located in the Industrial Park in Boothbay. Using an audio and visual presentation with his speech, Durdag said he came to the United States from his home in Pakistan with only $200 in his pocket. He spoke about his business failures and successes and stressed that Maine businesses must work together to be successful.

Following Durdag's speech, Riley and Fossett handed out the Chamber's three awards. Receiving the Community Service Award was Sue Burge. She organized the Set for Success program that provided donated backpacks and various school supplies for area school children. Also nominated for the award were Brian Blethen and Hodgdon Yachts.

The Boothbay Harbor Restaurant Group (McSeagull's, Mine Oyster and Boat House Bistro) received the Community Improvement Award. Other nominees were Balmy Days Cruises and the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service.

The Business Improvement Award was presented to Eventide Specialties and owner Kim Martin. Other nominees for the award included the Boothbay Register and Hammond Lumber Company.

The evening concluded with the drawing of several prizes, including five pairs of tickets to the Portland Sea Dogs game on May 30 and 10 round-trip tickets on the Amtrak Downeaster.