New school store provides learning experience at MMS

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Messalonskee Middle School students at their new store. (contributed photo)

by Mandi Favreau

The preparations started last year. Team Boothbay sold freeze pops to earn money, held a vote to choose a name, and started the work of creating a school store. The result was the Eagle’s Landing which had its official grand opening at Curriculum night a few weeks ago.

“I wanted to give my students an experience that would be engaging, beneficial and impactful,” said team Boothbay social studies teacher, Pamela  Atwood. “For many, it’s a great reason to come to school.”

The store also teaches valuable economic lessons in a very real context. All of the store positions, from general manager to order clerk, were posted along with their descriptions. Students had to apply and interview for any position they were interested in. Thanks to looping on team Boothbay, Atwood was able to staff the whole store by the end of the school year.

“Currently, I have over one-third of our team of 89 directly involved in the store,” said Atwood. She holds whole class lessons about accounting and decision making and holds regular staff meetings during lunch. While the administration was involved in the decision-making process during the opening of the store, the plan is for Eagle’s Landing to be run entirely by the students with staff oversight.

The store is open before and after school each day and carries school supplies, snacks, drinks, fidgets, school logo stickers, and a few novelty items.  They have recently added student-made products to their inventory to encourage entrepreneurship. They also offer gift cards that some staff members use as part of their incentive programs. Any profit that doesn’t go back into the running of the store has two possible destinations. Some of it will remain with Team Boothbay to help fund field trips or purchase academic supplies, while the students hope to donate a portion to Messalonskee Middle School’s general fund which pays for special events and items for the whole school.

“It is my hope that the store will continue to grow and eventually expand beyond the reaches of Team Boothbay,” said Atwood. “This was a great way to help students feel like a part of the MMS community and take on some ownership.”

Seeking donations for classroom

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Megan Marquis, a high school math teacher, has moved back to Maine and  is seeking donations for chairs and tables so students have some place to sit in the classroom. If anyone has tables (farmer’s market style, wooden) or any amount of rust-free metal folding chairs, please drop them off at 37 Neck Road, China. You may contact her at m.marquis.m@gmail.com.

Mckenzie graduates from basic military training

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U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kenneth R. Mckenzie Jr. graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Mckenzie is the son of Julie A. and Kenneth R. Mckenzie, of Albion.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce names program director

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Cindy Stevens Mid-Maine Chamber program director

Mid-Mine Chamber of Commerce, located in Waterville, welcomes Cindy Stevens as its new program director. Cindy has been named Chamber Program Director, replacing Kelly Smith who is leaving October 16 to pursue employment at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts, following two and a half years in her position.

Stevens, who retired October 1, had served 41 years in various sales, marketing, human resources, finance and management roles with the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal, part of the Masthead Maine newspaper group. Her most recent position was regional advertising director for both papers, serving in that role since 2013. She was responsible for all advertising print and digital revenue, events, and internal promotions. Stevens was a former member of the founding board of directors of Waterville Main Street.

A graduate of Mt. Blue High School, in Farmington, Stevens graduated from Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield, with a degree in marketing, and from the University of Maine at Augusta with bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees in business and marketing. She holds a masters degree in management/marketing from Thomas College, in Waterville, and earned her real estate broker’s license while employed with Century 21 Surette Real Estate.

Included in her new duties as program director will be oversight of dozens of the Chamber’s signature events, working with multiple volunteer committees, as well as marketing and communications of these events. Mid-Maine Chamber President and CEO Kimberly Lindlof said of Stevens, “I have known Cindy since my days in ad sales when she was steering the ship of my competition. I have great admiration for Cindy, the wealth of experience she has compiled, and the relationships that she has built over the years with the regional business community. The Chamber is hoping to capitalize on that connectivity as well as Cindy’s vast understanding of the market in the mid-Maine area. Our team is pleased to welcome her aboard.”

Stevens resides in Winslow with her husband, Gary, and son, Jonathan.

Palermo legion to hold annual craft fair

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The Malcolm Glidden American Legion Post #163 craft fair was started by Pauline York in 2013 and has been a huge success over the years. Pauline passed away before the first craft fair event but the family, the legion auxiliary and legion members kept it going in her memory.

This event is held to raise money to send students to Boys/Girls State. In 2019, they were able to send three girls and two boys. Over the years, they have sent a total of 19 students.

They have a raffle with over 30 items, all donations from Pauline’s family. There will be a bake sale with homemade pies, yeast rolls and many desserts.

The legion members will be selling hot dogs for lunch. There will be a variety of crafters, vendors, decorated wreaths, jewelry, cards, bird houses and feeders, wood crafts, sweaters, mittens, sewing and knitted items, pickles, salsa and relishes, and personalized tumblers and cups.

Everyone who attends gets to sign up for a chance at winning door prizes. The legion asks for support for this great event to be held on Saturday, October 26, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., at the Malcolm Glidden American Legion Post #163 home, on the Turner Ridge Road, in Palermo.

Walk to end Alzheimer’s raises over $35,000

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Nearly 300 participants joined the Kennebec Valley Area Walk to End Alzheimer’s in the fight to end Alzheimer’s disease on Saturday, October 5, at the RiverWalk at Head of Falls, in Waterville. Participants raised $35,000 to fund Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs.

Fundraising for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s continues through the end of the calendar year. Donate to a team or individual participant at alz.org/walk.

In Maine alone, there are more than 28,000 people living with the disease and 69,000 caregivers providing unpaid care. In the United States, more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth-leading cause of death and the only disease among the top 10 causes that cannot be cured, prevented or even slowed. Additionally, more than 15 million family and friends provide care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s – the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death.

Alzheimer’s Association®

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s research, care and support. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. Visit alz.org® or call 800.272.3900.

Not all heroes wear capes

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Colby Rumpf, left, and Brooke Allen, who are both in the JMG program and were freshmen at the time, running an eighth grade JMG blood drive. (contributed photo)

Local family, service group, sponsor blood drives every two months

by Laurie Rumpf

I never knew how much blood was needed. I would see the blood drive signs along the road or they would have a drive at my place of work years ago. In addition, I’d always think…they have enough blood, they don’t need mine. Boy was I wrong!

Back in 2003 my dad, Stephen Dickens, was diagnosed with leukemia. They discovered this by a random urine test for his job as a diesel mechanic. His oncologist told him that he wouldn’t really have to worry about it for another five years. He had regular visits for lab work in those five years. In addition, pretty much to that day…five years later my dad was at the Alfond Cancer Center, in Augusta, having chemo treatments. He ended up at MaineGeneral, in Augusta, from there they transported him to Maine Medical Center, in Portland. He was a patient there for a month.

We were with him that whole time. My mom lived there with him that whole time. My sister, brother or myself were always there with him. We watched him receive so many blood transfusions and platelets. The bad blood cells would kill it just as fast as he’d receive it. It was a rollercoaster month for all of us. In the end, he lost the battle with leukemia. But all those transfusions gave us an extra month with my dad. What a precious gift that was!

As the nurses would hook up each pint of blood I promised each one of them, “I’m going to pay that back!” After my dad passed, I went to Penney Memorial Church to a blood drive. After that I was hooked. It was my therapy to help me heal from losing my dad. So every 56 days I’d look for a local blood drive. My family wasn’t far behind me. We all would donate. None of us had ever donated before.

So a year after my dad had passed away we decided to all meet at the Portland Red Cross Donor center and we all donated blood together. There were eight of us that day. After that I decided I’d like to sponsor a drive each year on the anniversary of my dad passing away. So each year we’d get more and more people. My daughter Sasha Rumpf turned 16 and brought a lot of her friends. All first time donors! I was so proud of her and all of her friends! A lot of my friends had also jumped on the bandwagon. I think the most we had was around 52 people show up. We had so many that some had to wait over three hours! It was amazing to see though. All these people waiting around to save lives! Truly amazing!

My husband and daughter received a letter that they had a high platelet count so they wanted them to come to Portland to donate platelets.They now both donate platelets.

We now host the blood drives at the South China American Legion. We usually get pizza donated from Tobey’s or Fieldstone. We have so many that show up at each drive — I’m truly humbled to see this. The community pulls together! From the legion hosting it, my family and I running it, local stores donating pizza and all the amazing people that show up to give up their time and donate their blood to help save someone’s life or to help give someone some extra time with a loved one.

Our last drive was hosted by my 16 year old son, Colby Rumpf, in the Leaders Save Lives program. If you host a blood drive while you’re in high school and have 25 donors you earn a Red Cross cord for your graduation! He tried this last year and was short a few people. So he tried it again this year and he had 32 units of blood!

I am so very proud of my family, my friends and last but not least the community that I live in.

Please watch for our blood drive posters throughout the community and my posts on Facebook. We host drives right around every 56 days! Our next drive will be on November 16, 2019.

I hope to see you there!

Kennebec Federal Savings seeks video contest entries from teens

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Kennebec Federal Savings is now accepting submissions from local teens for its “Lights, Camera, Save!” video contest. Organized by the American Bankers Association Foundation, the contest is a national competition that encourages teens to use video to communicate the value of saving money and to inspire their peers to become lifelong savers. Last year’s local First Round Winner was Ely Yang, then a senior at Winslow High School and a student in the Mid-Maine Technical Center’s Mass Media Communications program.

“This wonderful competition offers Maine students a unique opportunity to tap their creativity, learn about saving and using money responsibly, and communicate those key lessons to other young people,” said Allan Rancourt, president of Kennebec Federal Savings. “A sound financial education is critical to a successful future, and we are excited to participate in a contest that spotlights that message.”

To participate in “Lights, Camera, Save!,” local students ages 13 to 18 are asked to create a short video (90 seconds or less) that spotlights the importance of saving and using money wisely. They must then submit a link to the video to Kennebec Federal Savings by December 3, 2019, along with a completed entry form.

Kennebec Federal Savings will host the local first round of judging and select a local winner. The local winner will then advance to the National Competition, where the first place, second place, and third place winners will be announced by the American Bankers Association Foundation on Wednesday, February 26, 2020. The top three national winners will receive cash prizes of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000 respectively, to fund their savings goal. Each winner’s school also will receive a scholarship for a teacher to attend the Jump$tart National Educator Conference.

Videos will be judged on their quality, message, content, and faithfulness to the criteria set forth by the contest’s official rules. Get the official rules and submission packet online at www.kfsavings.com/news.aspx.

To learn more about the “Lights, Camera, Save!” competition, please visit www.LightsCameraSave.com.

Shine-On Oakland benefits school food pantries

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Colby Charette with some of the food recently collected during the Shine-On Oakland Day that will go to the Oakland School Food Pantries.The Shine-On Cass Foundation again partnered with the town of Oakland’s summer festival “Oakfest,” which featured three days of community events. (Photo courtesy of Monica Charette)

by Monica Charette

Oakland’s “ShineOn Oakland Day,” on July 27, collected a bus load of donated school snacks, bringing awareness to child food insecurity and the support needed for local families through Oakland School Food Pantries. The ShineOnCass Foundation again partnered with the town of Oakland’s summer festival “Oak­fest,” which featured three days of community events including an outdoor movie night, food and art vendors, local bands, a car show, triathlon and a “stuff the bus” event, where Oak­fest attendees climbed aboard a school bus to donate snacks that will be distributed to local students in need this fall.

The ShineOnCass Foundation organizes a kindness event to both support local families and give children the experience of giving back to the community as part of “ShineOn Oakland” Day at Oakfest. In addition to collecting hundreds of snacks, Foundation volunteers also hosted a “Kindness Matters Bookmark Project” where kids created positive messages on bookmarks to be placed anonymously in books in local libraries to help spread kindness. For information about the Kindness Matters Bookmark Project and other ShineOnCass initiatives, visit shineoncass.org.

The ShineOnCass Foundation was created to honor the spirit, continue the work, and encourage others to live the legacy of Cassidy Charette, whose kindness and passion for others Shines On. Cassidy was a 17-year-old Messalonskee scholar and athlete, and a devoted community volunteer who died in a hayride accident in 2014. The organization’s mission is to educate, inspire and empower youth to make their world a better place through volunteer charitable activities.

Golf for Kids raises $38,000

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First place gross: Great Falls Marketing with players Mike Frautten, Steve Carrara, Mike Wilson and Mike McNaboe. (Photo courtesy of Monica Charette)

by Monica Charette

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine’s 20th Annual Golf Fore Kids’ Sake, held September 6, at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club, with Invitational Partner Kennebec Savings Bank, raised over $38,000 to benefit school and community-based youth mentoring services for children in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Fifty-five golfers competed in the tournament.

2019 Golf Fore Kids’ Sake Tournament Winners:

First Place Gross: Mike Frautten, Steve Carrara, Mike Wilson and Mike McNaboe, (Great Falls Marketing).

Second Place Gross: Mike Latendresse, Tom Duffek, Blaise McDonald and Tyler Walsh, (Dead River Company).

First Place Net: Eric Gosline, Geoff Houghton, Jake Coan and Ron Trahan, (Gosline-Murchie Insurance).

Second Place Net: Peter Labbe, Nicole Labbe, Patrick Phair and Adrian Phair, (Cives Steel).

Contest Winners:

Longest Drive (Men’s): Eric Gosline, (Gosline-Murchie Insurance); Longest Drive (Women’s): Danielle Marquis, (Higgins & Bolduc Agency Inc).

Closest To Pin: Jessica Smart, (Century 21 Surette Real Estate).

Chipping Contest: Jeff Willett.

Golf Fore Kids’ Sake’s Annual Invitational Partner is Kennebec Savings Bank with support from major sponsors G & E Roofing and Gosline-Murchie Insurance and lunch sponsors SAPPI and Kennebec Valley Federal Credit Union.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth in Androscoggin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Somerset, and Waldo counties.

By partnering with parents, volunteers and organizations, children in the program have higher aspirations, greater confidence, develop better relationships, avoid risky behaviors and achieve educational success.

For more information about Golf Fore Kids’ Sake, enrolling a child or becoming a volunteer or mentor, please call 236-BBBS (2227) email info@bbbsmidmaine.org, or visit www.bbbsmidmaine.org.

First place net, Gosline-Murchie Insurance, with players Eric Gosline, Geoff Houghton, Jake Coan and Ron Trahan. (Photo courtesy of Monica Charette)