NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization
holds first meeting
PRESQUE ISLE – A new organization formed to energize and engage alumni and others positively impacted by Northern Maine Community College and its forerunners – Northern Maine Technical College and Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute – recently held its first annual meeting and elected a slate of officers to lead the group into its first year of active service.
The NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization, which is comprised of a board of directors more than 30 strong, has been working over the past year to get the association off the ground. A number more than double that recently gathered at the college for the group’s first-ever annual meeting and dinner.
“We are looking forward to old friends coming together and meeting new friends,” said Scott Carlin, who was elected the organization’s first president, in his address to the 70 alumni and friends of the college gathered for the event. “This is an opportunity for those of us who have been so positively impacted by NMCC to celebrate the bond we all share and to help give back to the college. As a graduate myself, as a local employer who hires current students and alumni, and as a member of the local community, I can certainly attest to the important role NMCC plays toward the betterment of the economy and development of Aroostook County.”
Carlin is joined on the executive committee of the new organization by fellow officers Heidi Graham of Mapleton, who was elected vice president; Gisele MacDonald of Caribou, who was elected treasurer; and Tomi Henderson of Mars Hill, who was elected secretary. Also on the executive board are Gary Cleaves of Lascassas, Tenn., who had served as the organization’s provisionary president to work on laying the foundation for the association and getting it up and running; NMCC President Timothy Crowley; NMCC student body representative Rose-Mary Williams of Fort Fairfield; and three directors at large from the organization’s full board, Cheri Black and Mark Bouchard, both of Caribou and Kerry Gordon of Fort Fairfield.
In addition to the election of officers, the NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization dinner meeting featured reports from two of the standing committees of the group. The homecoming committee reported on their progress to host a first-ever college-wide homecoming celebration this coming September. The membership committee reported on their progress to get the organization up on Facebook and work to update the NMCC alumni records by connecting with area graduates and local employers to get updated contact and other information.
Also included in the evening’s festivities was the presentation of the very first NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization Torchbearer Award. As the title suggests, the honor is bestowed on an individual who, consistent with the definition of the word torchbearer, is someone in the forefront of a campaign, crusade, or movement.
The honor, which was presented by Crowley, will become an award given at the annual alumni event moving forward. The inaugural Torchbearer Award was presented to Richard Engels, the immediate past president of the NMCC Foundation Board, who during his tenure in the leadership role made the establishment of the Alumni and Friends Organization a key initiative.
“Dick Engels has been an outstanding supporter of the college and is an outstanding leader with our foundation. This very alumni and friends gathering is happening in large part because of his vision and efforts to move this initiative forward,” said Crowley. “You have truly been at the forefront of this movement and it is most fitting that the very first of these awards ever to be presented goes to you.”
Members of the NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization are now focusing their efforts on hosting the upcoming Homecoming Celebration, which will be held in conjunction with the Maine State Firefighters Convention and Muster weekend in Presque Isle Sept, 10-12.
For more information on the organization or on the Homecoming Celebration, contact NMCC at 760-1107 or check out the NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization on Facebook.
NORTHERN MAINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE President Timothy Crowley, left, presents the first NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization “Torchbearer Award” to Richard Engels, immediate past president of the NMCC Foundation Board of Directors.
THE NEWLY ELECTED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS for the newly formed NMCC Alumni and Friends Organization are, from left: Scott Carlin, president; Heidi Graham, vice president, both of Mapleton; Gisele MacDonald, treasurer, of Caribou; and Tomi Henderson, secretary, of Mars Hill. Also on the executive board are directors at large from the organization’s full board, Cheri Black of Caribou and Kerry Gordon of Fort Fairfield; NMCC student body representative Rose-Mary Williams of Fort Fairfield and NMCC President Timothy Crowley. Absent when the photo was taken were Gary Cleaves of Lascassas, Tenn., who had served as the organization’s provisionary president to work on laying the foundation for the association and getting it up and running; and director-at-large Mark Bouchard of Caribou.
