Recognition

The Maine Lobster Chef of the Year professionally judged winner at Harvest on the Harbor on Oct. 20 was Avery Richter, executive chef from Black Tie Catering in Portland, for her dish of a lobster seaweed salad cone with ginger honey vinaigrette, wasabi shallots, pickled radish, and cilantro. 

Mid Coast Hospital Auxiliary raised more than $108,000 at four major fundraisers held throughout 2018 and at the Auxiliary Gift Shop, it was announced at the Auxiliary’s annual meeting Oct. 10. In addition, Rosemary Anderson of Harpswell and Nicole Niven, Sandy Neiman, and Peggy Harris of Brunswick were welcomed to the board of directors.

Three employees at Hospice of Southern Maine have received End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium training and are now qualified ELNEC trainers: Laurl Matey, Clinical Services director; Keirsten Littlefield, Gosnell House manager; and Abigail Adams, clinical educator.  

Morgan Stanley announced that Andrew Thomas, a senior vice president and financial advisor of the Downeast Group at Morgan Stanley in the Firm’s Wealth Management office in Portland, has attained Morgan Stanley’s Family Wealth Advisor designation.

Bring Your Own Bag – Midcoast received the Spirit of Goodwill Award at the nonprofit’s annual awards breakfast Oct. 25 at USM in Portland. The award celebrates an effort that embodies Goodwill Northern New England’s values of sustainability and the stability of people; the group helped the nonprofit eliminate more than 3 million plastic bags in 2018.

Courtney Pladsen, a nurse practitioner at Greater Portland Health, has been selected to participate in Culture of Health Leaders, one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation leadership development programs that equip and connect leaders across the country to help address inequities and find solutions to the country’s health challenges.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland congratulates John Robinson for becoming a Certified Commercial Investment Member this month, making him a recognized expert in the commercial and investment real estate industry.

Granted

Maine Medical Center Research Institute and Maine Behavioral Healthcare have been awarded a $3.1 million grant to use wearable biosensors to provide warnings of impending aggression in children with autism. This watch-like device will help predict challenging behaviors in order to prevent problems before they occur. Dr. Matthew Siegel, a faculty scientist at MMCRI and VP of Medical Affairs Development Disorders at MBH is directing the project. 

Ovation arts network and Spectrum cable awarded Mayo Street Arts a $10,000 Stand for the Arts Award for its “unique and powerful work elevating creatives and communities through art.” MSA was one of only a dozen organizations to receive the award nationwide. The funds will help MSA further its mission to engage area youths of diverse cultural communities in the visual, performing and literary arts.

Giving Back

Walmart and Sam’s Club associates, customers and members in southern Maine put their money where the miracles are for The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital during the annual Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising campaign, raising $117,666 for The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital this year. The campaign has now raised more than $4 million for BBCH over the past 30 years.

In the final year of The Philip H. Grondin, Sr. Memorial Sturdivant Island Tuna Tournament, launched from Spring Point in South Portland, $287,000 was raised in support of Maine’s community college students. The tournament has raised more than $877,000 in scholarships since it was founded in 1998. 

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation presented a $10,000 check to Operation HOPE (the Heroin-Opiate Prevention Effort) on Oct. 24 at the Scarborough Public Safety Building in support of efforts to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Save the date

The recipients of the first Empow{h}er Awards will be honored when A Company of Girls holds its second annual Empow{h}er! event Nov. 13, at the Portland House of Music and Events. 

Mary Allen Lindemann is to receive the inaugural Empow{h}er Community Award for modeling a path of empowerment, success and leadership for women and girls within the community. The event will be emceed by Maine Women Magazine Editor Shannon Bryan and will also feature a return performance of A Company of Girls’ original production #girltalk, a silent auction and offerings from local restaurants. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $20 online at www.portlandhouseofmusic.com or for $25 at the door the night of.

The 2018 Maine Preservation Honor Awards, which recognizes historic preservation successes and the people who make them happen, will be held Wednesday, Nov. 7 beginning at 5 p.m. at Portland Country Club in Falmouth. Enjoy cocktails and networking with friends and colleagues while celebrating excellence in historic preservation leadership, rehabilitation and craft. Tickets are $50 per person through www.eventbrite.com.

Mölnlycke at Brunswick Landing was one of several stops Finance Authority of Maine made in Mid-Coast on Oct. 17.

Morrison Center and the Maine State Golf Association announced that Tim Thompson and Dan Honan have received the Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award for 25 years of leading the “Shot in the Dark” Golf Tournament at Purpoodock in Cape Elizabeth, which has raised over $500,000 for the programs at Morrison Center. Based in Scarborough, the Center serves those with developmental disabilities across several Maine counties.

Thomas

Congregational Church in Cumberland recently celebrated its 225th anniversary, with a group of residents depicting local historical figures. From left are Christine Sweetser Blanchard (Kay Blanchard Fowler); Elizabeth Prince (Donna Lathrop), the Rev. Rufus Anderson (John Chandler); Rueben Blanchard (Deane Roberts), Nellie Sweetser (Ellie Walker), and Capt. Beza Blanchard (Ken Blanchard).

Littlefield