RUMFORD – The new Rumford business park was named for a couple who devoted their lives to the community through volunteering, involvement and running a successful longtime business.

Selectmen on Thursday night unanimously voted to name the town’s newest economic enterprise the Puiia Business Park, in honor of Nicholas and Dorothy Puiia.

“Many buildings in town are named after people associated with the mill. There must be a partnership between business and the community,” Selectman Jolene Lovejoy said. “I thought about these folks when I was thinking of a new name. Nick Puiia served on many community boards, and she worked for many local causes. They were two very unselfish people.”

Lovejoy said the couple formed a marriage partnership in 1955 that lasted for 47 years as well as formed a business partnership that lasted 38 years.

“They gave much to this and surrounding communities. This new business park will not be the Rumford business park, but the Puiia Business Park after their very special partnership,” she said.

Carlo Puiia, the town’s tax collector and one of eight children of the Puiias, said Friday that having the business park named after his parents was an honor.

“I know how hard they worked here and they impressed on us how much the community gave them,” he said.

A dedication of the park, which is still under construction, will likely take place sometime in the autumn, once a new sign is purchased, said Town Manager Steve Eldridge.

Puiia said he expects all of his siblings to attend. His mother, who now lives in Brunswick in the summer and Arizona in the winter, will attend if she hasn’t left by the time of the dedication. Nicholas Puiia died in 2001.

“I was very surprised at the nomination, but very grateful,” Puiia said.

Nicholas Puiia was also responsible for bringing the Paul Bunyan statue to Puiia’s Hardware and Home Center. That business closed a few years ago, but the statue is erected at the town’s information center. The Mountain Valley High School gymnasium is named after Nicholas’ brother, Dominic.

In a related matter, Eldridge said he will present a list of suggestions for the types of businesses the selectmen may want to see in the Route 108 business park at the board’s next meeting in September.