Free energy guide
for towns, citizens

PORTLAND — The Greater Portland Council of Governments, with the help of their funding partner, Clean Air – Cool Planet, has released a free guide entitled “The Maine Energy Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Municipal Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy.”

The guide aims to help municipalities and citizen volunteers navigate the world of energy efficiency by serving as a resource for community grants, with tools to measure energy use and tips on how to establish and run a green energy committee. It also includes detailed plans and laws already in use by other Maine towns.

The guide is divided into six sections: connect with helpful resources, organize efforts, assess energy use, identify efficiency options, identify financing opportunities, and evaluate and implement measures.

Maine Municipal Association is distributing the guide to all towns and cities in Maine. It can also be downloaded for free at gpcog.org.

Awards

The Maine Affordable Housing Coalition was presented with the 2010 Housing Partner of the Year Award by USDA Rural Development in recognition of the coalition’s efforts to create and preserve affordable housing in Maine.

USM Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology Ed Collom of Portland was selected as the recipient of USM’s first annual Provost’s Research Fellowship for the 2010-2011 academic year. The Fellowship will allow Collom to continue researching community currencies and work on a forthcoming book on time banks entitled “Equal Time, Equal Value: Building Healthier Communities through Time Banking.”

The Maine Women’s Network presented awards to the following women at its fourth annual Celebration of Amazing Women and Annual Meeting: Kim Palermo of Elm Street Printing & Graphics, MidCoast Chapter Award; Mary Kozicki LaFontaine of Career Center, Business-Education Leadership Award; Barbara Lauze of The Basket Case, Androscoggin Chapter Award; Marianne Russo of Nellie’s Tea and Gifts, Portland Chapter Award; and Mary Bumiller of Bangor Savings Bank, Networker of all Networkers Award.

Dean Merrill of Portland was one of two recipients of the Jane Morrison Film Fellowship awarded by the Maine Community Foundation. Merrill graduated from Maine College of Art, MECA, runs Apogee Creative Studio and will be taking classes at either the Maine Media College or the New York Film Academy with support from the Morrison fund.

Susie Dorn, director of Bowdoin College’s McKeen Center for the Common Good, was awarded the Henry G. Brooks Public Service Fellowship from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Dorn is taking an educational leave-of-absence during the 2010-2011 academic year to pursue a master’s degree in public administration at the Kennedy School.

Appointments

Jim Konkel of Cape Elizabeth was elected to serve a second term as an at-large member on the national board of directors for Ducks Unlimited, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s disappearing waterfowl habitats.

The Maine Association of Nonprofits, MANP, recently elected the following as new officers to its board of directors: Jennifer Hutchins, public relations director at the USM Muskie School, president; Cathy Ramsdell, executive director of Friends of Casco Bay, vice president; Peter Montano of MacDonald Page & Co., treasurer; Kathryn Davis, president of United Way of York County, secretary; and Tom Davis, executive director of Skills, Inc., past president.

Portland Director of Public Works Michael Bobinsky was recently elected chairman of the board for ecomaine. Other newly elected positions include vice chairman, Cape Elizabeth Town Manager Michael McGovern; treasurer, South Portland City Manager James Gailey; and secretary, Gary Foster of Gray. Kevin Roche will continue as ecomaine’s general manager.

Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ has added four new members to its board of directors. They are Peter S. Plumb, Juergen Renger, Mark Terison and Catherine Wygant. The board’s current officers are Bruce M. Lockwood, president; Terrie Harman, vice president; Richard W. Kurtz, treasurer.

The University of New England has announced the names of new and reappointed members of its board of trustees. Newly-elected members of the board are David Biondi of Princeton, N.J., Rita R. Colwell of Bethesda, Md., Diane Collins Field of Gray, Cynthia J. Milliken Taylor of Scarborough. Student trustees new to the board are Emily M. Bourret, representing the Portland campus and John A. Johnson, Jr. representing the Biddeford campus. Reappointed members include Mark R. Doiron of Scarborough, Sandra L. Goolden of Yarmouth, Joseph F. Karpinski, of Auburn, N.Y., Robert T. Leonard, of Narragansett, R.I., James C. Norwood, Jr., of Keene, Va., Hugo L. Ricci Jr. of Lincoln, R.I., and Gerald E. Talbot of Portland.

The Topsham Garden Club elected new officers at the annual meeting. They are Marie Neale, president; Jane Scease, vice president; Judy Hardin, secretary; Liz Volckening, treasurer; and Alison Harris, assistant treasurer. Outgoing president Carol Williams was also honored at the meeting for her years of service to the club.

Cheverus High School has elected the following individuals to its board of trustees: Edward P. Hardiman of Danvers, Mass., David E. Machesney of Cumberland, Jason A. Oney of Portland, Richard W. Petersen of South Portland and Thomas M. Simisky, S.J. of Boston. Retiring from the current Cheverus board of trustees are Beth Coates, Whitney Harvey, Rev. Tony Kuzniewski, and Gregg Frame.

Sidebar Elements

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Thanks to a donation from Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, Scarborough Library has a new, state-of-the-art computer workstation designed especially for young children ages 2 to 10. The computer features a user-friendly touch screen and child-sized computer mouse, and is loaded with interactive educational programs. Pictured here are Laura Bustin, Saco & Biddeford Savings’ Scarborough branch manager, on right, with Travis Tschacher, youth services librarian.

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