NAMI gives award to Kennebec Behavioral Health’s administrator
AUGUSTA — Pat McKenzie, Kennebec Behavioral Health’s administrator for outpatient and substance abuse services was awarded the 2018 Hector Bolduc Award at NAMI Maine’s fifth annual conference, “Healthier Together: It Takes a Community” held Nov. 3 at the Augusta Civic Center, according to a press release. The award is named in honor of Hector Bolduc who was a one of the founders of NAMI Maine.
Each year, the Hector Bolduc Award is given to a mental health professional who has made a significant contribution to serving people with mental illness in partnership with NAMI Maine. According to Jenna Mehnert, NAMI Maine executive director, in the release, “Pat has been a long-standing partner to the CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) program and a supporter of NAMI’s effort to combat stigma. She has always demonstrated the ability to approach each person where they are at, peers and new professionals, to support them along their journey.”
Kennebec Behavioral Health’s Chief Executive Officer, Tom McAdam agrees wholeheartedly with the selection of Pat McKenzie as the 2018 award recipient. “Pat exemplifies all of the most outstanding qualities of a mental health professional. She is hyper focused on the client’s experience and is both passionate and compassionate in everything she does” he stated in the release.
Ms. McKenzie joined Kennebec Behavioral Health in 2016 with over 30 years of experience serving children, adults, and families with behavioral health needs in their efforts to build stronger lives in their journey to recovery and wellness.
Hannah Longley, NAMI Maine Director of Community Programs, left, with Jenna Mehnert, NAMI Maine Executive Director; andPat McKenzie, Kennebec Behavioral Health Administrator for Outpatient and Substance Abuse Services.
Bill Mitchell wins Developer of Year
WATERVILLE — Central Maine Growth Council is proud to present its annual Developer of the Year award to Mr. Bill Mitchell, owner of GHM Insurance Agency and co-owner of The Proper Pig restaurant in downtown Waterville, according to a press release.
In addition to his leadership at the aforementioned establishments, Mitchell has played an active role in real estate development in the greater Waterville region. While he owns over a dozen properties in the region consisting of 40-plus tenants, many of them national companies, his most well-known include KMD Plaza, Penny Hill Park and the Masonic building overlooking Castonguay Square.
Part of the legendary Mitchell family which has been embedded in the fabric of Waterville’s history, Mitchell enjoys a close relationship with the community and his real estate development activities are important contributions to the city’s bright future.
“Bill’s commitment to the City of Waterville is evident in the care and thought that he puts into his projects. He is restoring the city’s history and creating spectacular spaces which attract new businesses and new jobs to the region,” says Garvan D. Donegan, director of planning and economic development for Central Maine Growth Council in the release. “It has been a pleasure working with Bill — he is a true partner in realizing our collective vision for a vibrant downtown and thriving region.”
For his part, Mitchell is encouraged by the direction of Waterville’s progress and is pleased to give back to the community through his redevelopments. “I am very bullish on Waterville’s future, not only in real estate development but in all regards. With the complete renovation of 173 Main Street, the new student housing building recently opening, a new boutique hotel on its way, the redevelopment of The Center into an art museum and film center, and the completion of the new River Walk at Head of Falls, the future of Waterville and the surrounding area is very bright. There’s no better time to be living and working in Waterville, and to be investing in Waterville’s future. I’m very excited to be part of such a great community renaissance,” he said in the news release.
From left are Garvan D. Donegan, director of Planning & Economic Development, Central Maine Growth Council; Awardee 2018 Developer of the Year Bill Mitchell; and Kimberly N. Lindlof, president & CEO, Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce & executive director, Central Maine Growth Council.
Finance Authority of Maine names Lender at Work for Maine
CAMDEN — The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) presented Camden National Bank with the Lender at Work for Maine Award at its annual Showcase Maine event in Portland, accordng to a news release. The award category was reserved for lenders with over $1.5 billion in assets. This is Camden National Bank’s ninth time as a FAME awardee, recognizing the Bank’s outstanding commitment to supporting Maine businesses and jobs. Over the past year, Camden National Bank partnered with FAME on 57 loans totaling over approximately $18 million. This, in turn, helped to create 79 Maine jobs and retain an additional 566 jobs.
“Our partnership with FAME has been both inspiring and rewarding as we’ve helped local businesses grow with the assistance of FAME-backed loans,” said Tim Nightingale, executive vice president and senior lending officer at Camden National Bank in the release. “We’re honored to accept the Lender at Work for Maine Award again this year, as it illustrates an important component of our commitment to business growth, job creation and community development here in Maine.”
A key recipient of FAME-backed funding from Camden National Bank was Keeley Crane Service and Keeley Construction Co. Inc., based in Southern Maine. “Camden National Bank first approached us in 2017 to assist with our banking needs,” said James F. Keeley Jr., president of Keeley Crane Service and Keeley Construction Co. Inc. in the release. “With the guarantee from FAME, they’ve exceeded our expectations and helped us move into the next level of business growth. We look forward to this partnership for many years to come.”
From left are Bill Norbert, Governmental Affairs & Communications manager, FAME; Jay Violette, Board chairman, FAME; and John Everett, director of Commercial Banking, Camden National Bank.
MaineToday Media’s CEO to speak at Mid-Maine Chamber event
WATERVILLE — MaineToday Media’s CEO Lisa DeSisto will speak about Media Relations — Local Media Platforms to Grow Your Business at Thomas College and Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s November Business Breakfast. The breakfast will be held on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 7:15 to 9:00 a.m. in the Spann Student Commons Summit Room on Thomas College’s campus at 180 West River Road in Waterville, according to a press release.
DeSisto will discuss how to engage with customers and businesses using traditional and new platforms that are available in local media to grow your business.
DeSisto is the chief executive officer for Maine Today Media which publishes the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and The Coastal Journal. In August 2017, Lisa assumed the same role for the Sun Media Group which publishes the Lewiston Sun Journal, The Forecaster/Current Newspapers, Franklin Journal, Livermore Falls Advertiser, Penobscot Times, Advertiser-Democrat Norway, Bethel Citizen, Rumford Falls Times, Rangeley Highlander, Maine Women Magazine, My Generation and 95 North. In April Lisa also took on leadership of the Biddeford Journal Tribune, Brunswick Times Record, and the Mainely Media weekly newspapers.
She sits on the board of the Maine Press Association, Associated Press, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. She also serves as an advisor for the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute working directly with a group of high school students to develop their values, voice and vision. Lisa hosts a bi-monthly live event; “Like A Boss” where she interviews other Maine CEOs on their leadership principles.
Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce holds monthly informative presentations on a variety of educational business topics at Thomas College’s Spann Student Commons. The cost of the Business Breakfast is $18 for members, $25 at the door & for nonmembers. Breakfast is included with the reservation. To register, email programs@midmainechamber.com or call 873-3315.
The sponsors for the Business Breakfast are: AT&T; People’s United Bank; Cross Employee Benefits; Nicholson, Michaud & Company; O’Donnell, Lee, McCowan & Phillips LLC; print media sponsor Morning Sentinel, a division of MaineToday Media Inc. and radio sponsor MIX107.9.
Lisa DeSisto
Colby College unveils new financial aid fund
Colby College has created a new fund aimed at making it more affordable for students from middle-income families to attend the Waterville college.
The Fair Shot Fund caps the parent/guardian contribution at $15,000 for families making up to $150,000, according to a news release from the college. Now, 87 percent of families in the country fall below the $150,000 annual income threshold, and families making less than $150,000 can expect a proportionally smaller contribution, the college’s release said.
Colby officials said the fund was made possible through the contribution of an alumnus who sees the challenges of the “middle-class squeeze” and wants to ensure that students from middle-income families aren’t deterred from pursuing an education at Colby.
“Too many families are forced to compromise on their children’s college education because the best option for them isn’t affordable,” Colby President David A. Greene said in the release.
The Fair Shot Fund goes into effect with next year’s entering class. The average published tuition, fees, and room and board costs for a public, four-year, in-state institution are $21,370, and Colby officials said the new initiative makes it possible for students in the U.S. to attend Colby for less than public colleges and universities.
OTIS Credit Union gives check to local food pantry
JAY — On Nov. 15 OTIS Federal Credit Union President/CEO Kim Turner presented a $117 check to long-time ending hunger advocate Brenda Davis on behalf of the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger. OTIS FCU was one of 96 credit unions in 90 different communities throughout all of Maine’s 16 counties which Davis will visit on her 17th Annual Maine Credit Unions’ Ending Hunger Walking and Awareness Tour, according to a release. The tour is part of the mission of Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, to not only raise funds, but also awareness about the issue of hunger in our state.
Davis is the executive director of BBC Opportunity Center, a food insecurity organization serving eastern and central Maine. To mark the start of her tour this year, Maine Credit Unions sent Davis off with a special donation to the BBC Opportunity Center for $16,332, or $117 for every credit union that Davis will visit along her journey. As a nod to this being the 17th year of the walking tour, the Campaign for Ending Hunger is also contributing a $117 check to a food pantry in every community that she visits. All in all, this year’s Walking and Awareness Tour will raise nearly $30,000 to end hunger in Maine.
Said Turner of Davis in the release, “Brenda is a Maine hero in my eyes; her dedication and compassion to helping end hunger in Maine is genuine and powerful.”
Davis’s tour was preceded by an Oct. 25 press conference at Penobscot County Federal Credit Union in Old Town, where she was joined by representatives from Maine’s credit unions. The tour kicked off Oct. 26 at Maine State Credit Union in Augusta, and will conclude with a ceremony at Changing Seasons Federal Credit Union in Hampden on Tuesday.
Trademark Credit Union giving Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen $1,000
AUGUSTA — The Board of Directors of Trademark Federal Credit Union recently selected Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen as the recipient of the Griffin-Guerrette Charitable Giving Fund.
The fund was established in 2012 to recognize the career contributions of Judith A. Griffin and Paul J. Guerrette whose careers spanned four decades with the Credit Union. The fund awards $1,000 in November of each year to one Augusta area nonprofit organization serving the human services, social welfare or other charitable needs of the community.
The Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen fosters community and personal relations for all citizens of the Winthrop area by providing free meals and a place to meet and socialize with others. They also deliver meals to those who can’t make it to the St. Francis Parish Hall kitchen that they rent. Their target population is the elderly, young, shut-ins and the disabled. Anyone wishing to join Trademark in helping the Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen by making a tax deductible contribution, may send it to Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen, P.O. Box 472, Winthrop ME, 04364.
Compiled from contributed releases
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