Maine Bar Association to honor Richard, Farnham

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Two local residents will be honored later this month at the Maine State Bar Association’s annual meeting in Portland.
Stephen D. Richard and Stephen M. Farnham are both recipients of the John W. Ballou Award for their community service and their contribution to the fair and effective provision of legal services throughout the state.
     “They have both contributed significantly to the community and to the citizens their agencies serve,” said local attorney David A. Dunlavey, “and the development of law on both a national and statewide basis, during their 30-plus year careers with their respective agencies – Steve Richard in the area of retarded citizens and Steve Farnham in the area of providing services to the aging population.
“They’ve both done stellar jobs in running and developing their agencies, and I believe they are both well deserving of the award,” he said.
As the executive director of the Central Aroostook Association for Retarded Citizens for 32 years, Richard oversees the ARC’s Opportunity Training Center, Child Development Center, Work Activity Center, Child Development Center, Work Activity Center and Work Opportunity Center, as well as three new residential facilities.
During the last 15 years, he has been a member of the Consumer Advisory Board, an organization overseeing a community consent decree that involved the closure of Maine’s largest state institution for persons with mental retardation. He has been chair of this board for the past six years.
Additionally, Richard is chair of the board of the Aroostook County Action Program, contracted administrator for St. John Valley Associates in Madawaska, and has twice served as the United Way campaign chair.
As co-director of the Aroostook County Special Olympics for 29 years, Richard is on the Games Management Team for the Winter Games and was selected alpine ski and power lifting coach for Maine during the World Games.
For 32 years, Farnham, executive director of the Aroostook Agency on Aging, has worked to improve the quality of life for older people at the local, state, and national levels. His leadership on aging issues and advocacy on behalf of older people has been well recognized by his peers.
Farnham has served three four-year terms as an elected representative of the New England region to the board of directors of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. He recently led the Association’s Grassroots Committee in a successful effort re-authorizing the Older American’s Act through 2011, with new amendments to help communities prepare for the aging of the baby-boomer generation.
He has served as a member of the Federal Council on the Aging and as a Maine delegate to the 1985, 1995, and 2005 White House Conferences on Aging.
Farnham was instrumental in developing several Maine programs including Legal Services for the Elderly, the Elderly Homeowner’s Property Tax and Rent Refund Program, the Maine Low Cost Drug Program, the Maine Home Based Care Program and the Independent Housing with Services (Assisted Living) Program.
His agency showed the need for and piloted the development of some of these critical services that have enabled tens of thousands of Mainers to maintain their independence.
“The two gentlemen are fantastic recipients for the award and it’s well deserved,” said Dunlavey, who as a member of the board of governors of the Maine State Bar Association, nominated the two men. “They continue to contribute to the community and continue to contribute to the development of legislation and programs that benefit both their areas of expertise.”
Richard and Farnham will each receive a plaque at the Jan. 25 Maine State Bar Association’s annual meeting in Portland.