AUGUSTA — Molina Medicaid Solutions of Maine recently recognized three community members as 2014 Community Champions at its third annual Community Champions Awards Ceremony. This year’s honorees are Ahmed Ciangiulli with Healthy Maine Streets, Annabelle Curtis from Spectrum Generations William S. Cohen Community Center and Hoang “Henry” Lam from Literacy Volunteers of Greater Augusta.

Annabelle Curtis of Augusta has volunteered at Spectrum Generations Cohen Community Center in Hallowell for the past five years. She works closely with the organization to provide seniors and disabled adults with learning experiences related to health, nutrition, community engagement and social well-being. She packs and seals food for the “Meals on Wheels” program two days a week and serves as wait staff for the center’s lunch program one day a week.

Hoang “Henry” Lam of Augusta devotes is a board member of the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Augusta. Through this organization, Lam helps adults improve their reading, writing and literacy skills through one-on-one volunteer tutoring. In 2005, Henry left Vietnam and moved to Maine, where he went to Literacy Volunteers of Bangor to learn English with the help of tutors. As a result of his work, he graduated from high school and earned a college degree.

Ahmed Ciangiulli of Kennebunk is a stroke survivor who motivates people to make healthy life choices. Some of his efforts include hosting a 5 a.m. walking group, creating a walking map for the community and encouraging local companies to promote wellness among their employees. Ciangiulli has tracked well over 1.8 million steps with his pedometer so far this year. Through his work with Healthy Maine Streets, Ciangiulli reaches out to small businesses to implement worksite-based wellness programs for their employees. In addition, he’s known to add health awareness components to community events by creating wellness challenges, and providing education on important topics, such as ways to make healthier food choices and living tobacco-free lifestyles.

Each community champion was nominated by a community-based organization and also received a $1,000 grant to give to a deserving nonprofit organization of their choice. The ceremony was held at the Governor Hill Mansion and included a performance by the Peter Herman Trio.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.