FARMINGTON - On Thursday, January 28 the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area held its 29th Annual Meeting and Campaign Celebration. Despite the impending snow, a good crowd gathered in the G.H. Bass Room at Franklin Memorial Hospital to participate in the business portion of the evening, learn about the activity that took place throughout 2009, and honor those who helped make the current, ongoing Campaign a success.

Three new board members were voted in: Jef Howell, Verso Paper Corp.’s Androscoggin Mill; Sandy Goodwin, Bangor Savings Bank; and Bob Yorks, Maine Retirement Annuities. The membership also thanked three outgoing board members for their many years of incredible service: Rick Dorey, retired International Paper; Tom Taylor, retired educator; and Margaret Gould Wescott, retired educator. New officers were also elected: Peggy Willihan, Carrabassett Valley resident, President; Andrew Sturtevant, Franklin Savings Bank, Vice President; Gordie Flint, Androscoggin Bank, Treasurer; and Janis Walker, Healthy Community Coalition, Secretary.

To honor the hard work and dedication of selected individuals and businesses that helped make this year’s Campaign a success, the following awards were bestowed:

Visionary Awards (First time workplace campaigns and existing workplace campaigns with a new local partnership): Area Landlords; Aramark/UMF Higher Education; Barclays; Poland Spring - Kingfield Bottling Plant; Ranor, Inc.; Sandy River Center/Genesis Health Care; Stratton Lumber, Inc.; Webber Energy Fuels. (New or re-established charitable contributions): Susan and Thomas Withrow Charitable Fund; Maine Commission for Community Service; Maine Community Foundation.

You Raise Me Up Awards (Workplace campaigns; corporate contributions; that increased from 2008-09 to 2009-10): Androscoggin Bank (Employees); Barclays (Employees); Bangor Savings Bank (Employees); Central Maine Power Co. (Corporate); University of Maine Farmington (Employees); Community Dental (Employees); Downeast Energy (Employees); Franklin Community Health Network (Employees); Franklin County Children’s Task Force (Employees); Franklin Savings Bank (Employees); Hannaford Charitable Foundation (Corporate); Hannaford - Farmington (Employees); HealthReach Community Health Centers (Employees); MRSU #36 (Livermore Falls, Livermore) (Employees); Mt. Blue RSD (Employees); Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services (Employees); Town of Jay (Employees); United Way of the Tri-Valley Area (Employees); Verso Paper Corp. (Corporate); Village Realty, Inc. (Corporate); Webber Energy Fuels (Employees); Western Maine Community Action (Employees); (Non-workplace campaigns that increased from 2008-09 to 2009-10): Small business contributions; Individual Leadership contributions.

Outstanding Achievement Awards (Workplace campaigns recognized for their innovation, participation, and collaboration): Hannaford - Farmington; University of Maine, Farmington; Downeast Energy

Workplace Champion Awards (Workplace Employee Campaign Managers (ECMs) recognized for their dedication, enthusiasm, creativity and exemplary leadership) Verso Paper Corp.’s Androscoggin Mill Campaign Team: Peggy Willihan, Chair; Dennis Coombs; Nancy Coombs; David Griswold; Jef Howell; Libby Keoskie; Tom Saviello; Jodi Spiller; Ralph Turner. Franklin Community Health Network: Larry Stewart; Janis Walker. Webber Energy Fuels: Matt Wotton

In closing, the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area awarded its second annual Community Impact Award to two recipients. This award acknowledges those who went above and beyond to improve the lives of Greater Franklin County residents in 2009.

Crystal Cook is Operations Manager for the United Methodist Economic Ministry (UMEM) in Salem. UMEM is about building relationships with the people of northern Franklin County, as well as providing a myriad of services including a summer housing rehabilitation program, a Back To School program that serves upwards of 150 students, a Christmas gift giving program, a food cupboard and a thrift store. Thousands of lives are changed each year by Crystal Cook’s hard work and dedication towards the organization’s mission.

Barclays As a company, Barclays values and is committed to responsible corporate citizenship. Barclays colleagues in Wilton made service to our community an unwavering priority in 2009. To support their efforts, Barclays offered two hours of paid community service time each month to all colleagues to get people started! By the end of the first full year of operations in Wilton, Barclays colleagues tracked over 3,500 hundred volunteer hours and raised $37,000 for organizations in communities all over Franklin County and beyond.