Kerem Durdag wants to accomplish two things at the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner in Edgecomb March 3. The chief executive officer at Biovation in Boothbay wants attendees to enjoy his keynote speech, which will include some humor, and he hopes to inspire them to persevere, as he has.

“I’ve succeeded a good amount in life, and I’ve also screwed up plenty,” Durdag said in a telephone interview ahead of the talk. “So If I can do it, I think anybody can do it,” he said about success.

“I think there’s something to be said for not being afraid to fail and not being afraid to try new things, and being a good human being and trying to find some common ground with everybody and ... asking the right questions and fighting for the right answers, not re-asking the old questions again.”

Following those tenets, with support from professors and other mentors, has served Durdag well.

From his youth in Pakistan where his Turkish parents raised him, to college in the U.S. and throughout his career, mentors have been a big part of his success and still are, Durdag said. He has passed on that positive force by mentoring students from middle school to college-age and serving on several nonprofits’ boards.

Durdag believes that when people succeed in business they have a moral and ethical responsibility to help show the next generation the way. “If they don’t, for me their relevance as a human being takes a little bit of a hit,” he said. “If you’re not passing it on, I have little time for you.”

Durdag has reached back into history for the planned subject of his speech. He’ll be talking about the Lewis and Clark expedition. “I hope to use that as a vehicle to talk about what the Midcoast area, Wiscasset and Boothbay folks, may want to think about doing for the next 10, 20 years and contribute to the economic health in that area ... I just think it’s apropos,” he added about the theme.

Asked what he sees as the Midcoast’s biggest economic challenge, Durdag said there are a spectrum of them. The region needs a forward-thinking workforce and more infrastructure; it also has the typical challenges of high power costs and other costs of doing business, he said.

“Those are the challenges. How do you sort of break through that logjam? Well you break through (it) by thinking a little bit on the long ball side. I don’t think there are any short-term answers.”

Some areas to look at growing, and starting as early as middle school-age to build a workforce for, might be craftsmanship and light manufacturing, Durdag said.

“You’re not going to have IBM or BMW come put a plant in the Midcoast. Not going to happen ... at least not in the next 20 years.”

He had just been reading about Lewis and Clark when the chamber invited him to talk, so it was a subject that was fresh in his head, he said. “I saw a lot of parallels in what they set out to do and what they accomplished and what the Midcoast wants to do. So hopefully I’ll be able to articulate and tie the connections together, and if I don’t I’ll be chased out of the room with fresh tomatoes thrown in my direction.”

Durdag has a few rules for his speeches: They’re never boring, he makes them fun, and he never gives the same one twice. “It’s always freshly baked, and eaten once. It helps to eliminate any bloviating pontification,” he said. “And it keeps me on my toes, sort of like a stand-up routine.”

The chamber is planning a silent auction fundraiser at the dinner, at Water’s Edge Banquet & Function Facility. Tickets are $35 each; reservations are required, a chamber announcement states. For more, visit www.wiscassetchamber.com.