Camp to Belong, Pathway to Potential earn top Summit Natural Gas grants

Summit Natural Gas of Maine has announced the recipients of the company’s 2018 Charitable Giving Program.

Camp to Belong and Pathway to Potential will receive $4,000 each. Augusta’s Colonial Theater, the Central Maine Growth Council, the Falmouth Food Pantry, and Yarmouth Fire Rescue Explorers Post 178 will receive $1,000 each.

Each year Summit donates thousands of dollars to local nonprofits and community events, according to a news release from the compay. This year, in addition to sponsoring a number of charitable events throughout the year, the company solicited applications from local nonprofits for charitable grants that would benefit and strengthen directly the communities Summit serves. After narrowing the applications down to six finalists, the company asked Maine residents to vote on their favorite causes. The top two vote-earners received $4,000 grants and the remaining four charities received $1,000 grants.

Pathway to Potential was founded by Olympic athlete Julia Clukey, who grew up in Augusta, in the belief that all students, regardless of income or background, deserve a quality education and career success. With that in mind, the organization runs several initiatives, including college consulting, summer camp for girls, leadership conferences, and living inspiration conferences. The grant money will support Kennebec Valley youth at summer camps and college immersion programs.

Camp to Belong Maine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reuniting brothers and sisters who have become separated by foster care or adoption through a week of camp in the summer and other events throughout the year. To run camp for one week in the summer for about 60 Maine youths and maintain the nonprofit year-round costs a little over $100,000 a year, which the organization gets primarily through donations, fundraisers and grants.

At the Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta, the grant money is expected to enable public tours of the theater building to resume this month.

To conduct the tours, the nonprofit group intends to recruit volunteers and train them accordingly. Tours also will require the theater’s board of directors to create educational materials for the public, and communication to promote the tours will be necessary to ensure the public is aware. The organization seeking to restore the 105-year-old theater building plans to spend the grant money on training, educational handouts, signage and banners, and marketing efforts.

The theater last showed movies on a regular basis about 50 years ago.

The Central Maine Growth Council collaborates with the Mid-Maine Technical Center to coordinate a pre-apprenticeship program that has connected more than 150 students with local businesses. Now the agency is connecting science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education with technology-based businesses through a series of initiatives. The grant money will be allocated equally among operating expenses, attracting STEM-related businesses to the pre-apprenticeship program, highlighting high-school STEM classes and extracurricular activities at Central Maine Tech Night, participating in STEM-related entrepreneurial events, and showcasing the skills of STEM-involved high-school students through an exposition.

Bangor Savings moving its Pittsfield branch

Bangor Savings Bank is relocating its Pittsfield branch to a new, more spacious site at 138 Main St. The current branch, at 108 Somerset Plaza, will close officially at the end of business on June 29 and reopen July 2 at the new location, according to the bank.

The new branch will offer extended hours, accessible drive-up banking, a 24-hour ATM, and enhancements including safe deposit boxes, free coffee and Wi-Fi, and advanced technology.

Bangor Savings Bank President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice said in a news release from the bank, “We put a lot of thought and planning into the design of our new Pittsfield branch. By moving to this beautifully renovated location, we can offer our customers a better banking experience and our employees a much more comfortable and enjoyable work environment.”

Bouchard becomes executive director of Central, Mid Coast Red Cross

Jim Bouchard has joined the American Red Cross as the executive director of the Central and Mid Coast Maine Chapter.

Bouchard brings experience in fundraising, communications and volunteer engagement to the position. He is responsible for strengthening and growing community partnerships, expanding the base of engaged volunteers and stewarding donors. Bouchard also supports the chapter board of directors to deliver the Red Cross mission across its lines of service and is key to Red Cross initiatives and events. His offices are in Lewiston and Topsham.

Bouchard previously worked at Maine Preservation in Yarmouth, where his responsibilities included development programs, the annual fund, membership, major and leadership gifts, special events and volunteer recruitment and management.

Bouchard also held leadership positions at Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, the United Way of Mid-Coast Maine, Maine Medical Center and the YMCA of Greater Portland.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University of Maine and continues to respond to forest fires as a firefighter team leader.

Bouchard and his wife, Anne, live in Topsham. They have four children.

Franklin Memorial Hospital honors Tinguely, Davis with new award

FARMINGTON — Dr. Gerald Tinguely and physician assistant Tim Davis were the recipients of the first primary care service awards presented at the Franklin Memorial Hospital medical staff meeting, held on Monday.

The new award is bestowed as thanks to health care providers who help primary care clinicians be more efficient and help patients have better access, better care coordination, and better continuity of care.

Dr. Jean Antonucci, chief of primary care service, presented the first award to Tinguely, stating, “Dr. Tinguely has had a long and outstanding career in family practice and will end his career providing wound care.” She then read aloud a testimonial received from a colleague mentioning his generosity of time and heart to his patients.

Tinguely has been on the FMH medical staff since 1984, and plans to retire June 22.

Antonucci presented the next award to Davis, whose career in Farmington spanned 33 years, first working in the emergency department, then providing patient care for the hospitalist service, and ending his career delivering wound care. She recognized his important work teaching stress reduction and ended by stating, “When Tim was working as a hospitalist, he was one of the best communicators to primary care.”

Davis joined the medical staff in 1985 and retired on May 30.

Compiled from contributed releases