What made the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce pick attorney Lawrence Sawyer of Casco as its business person of the year?

“You’d have to ask them, I voted against it,” Sawyer said with a laugh in his office in Windham.

“He really did,” said Barbara Clark, executive director of the chamber. She said he was chosen because of the combination of his volunteer work and his involvement with the chamber.

Sawyer has been practicing law for 27 years, the last 20 of it in Windham. He is a member of the Casco Board of Appeals, moderates annual town meeting in Casco, and donates time to other town committees. He also volunteers as the chamber’s corporate clerk. Clark compared the position to that of an attorney.

“Larry has served a role in our chamber since the early ’90s,” said Clark. She added that he is a human rights activist, specifically with abused women and children.

“I’m a product of the state of Maine, and I like to give back when I can,” said Sawyer. An Eagle Scout, Sawyer said he is passionate about living in Maine.

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The Sawyer, Sawyer & Minott law firm Sawyer works in includes himself, his brother John Sawyer and Lawrence “Bud” Minott. The firm represents more than 350 small businesses, according to Sawyer.

The Windham branch of the firm burned down five years ago when a surge protector overheated and set a desk ablaze. Firefighters used tarps to save the files and Sawyer said only electronic equipment and furniture was lost.

“That’s one of our claims to fame,” said Sawyer. “Like the phoenix, we rose from the fire.”

He was able to operate out of the Gorham branch on the same day as the fire. He said he practiced law for the next two months out of a van. The Windham branch has since moved to a location on Route 302 near Raymond.

His wife, Andrea, is a real estate agent and an artist. They have four children, five grandchildren, two Scottish terriers and a cat named “Cat.”

Sawyer was given his award at the chamber’s annual gala on Tuesday, Jan. 23. At the same event Phyllis Hall Smith was named the volunteer of the year for her work in renovating the Little Meetinghouse building. The Little Meetinghouse is an enclosed space available for use by the public for a donation. Clark said two weddings have taken place there so far.

The Executive Director’s Award went to Ann Marie Swenson, vice president of Maine Bank & Trust. The award is given by Clark to someone with a high level of community service who works closely with the chamber.

LSawyer1 & LSawyer2: Lawrence Sawyer, Esq. of Casco was given the award of business person of the year by the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce for his dedication to community service and large involvement with the chamber, according to Executive Director Barbara Clark.LSawyer1 & LSawyer2: Lawrence Sawyer, Esq. of Casco was given the award of business person of the year by the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce for his dedication to community service and large involvement with the chamber, according to Executive Director Barbara Clark.


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