PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — No birthday party is complete without ice cream to go with the cake, so Aroostook County’s only locally owned and operated dairy producer will provide a special dish to mark the biggest such bash of the year in northern Maine — the 100th birthday of The Aroostook Medical Center. Even better, the party gift to be unwrapped afterwards comes in the form of proceeds from the sale of the ice cream that will be directed to the most vulnerable county newborns.
Officials with Houlton Farms Dairy — joined by TAMC leaders and some notable county kids Monday — announced the launch of TAMiC (Truly Aroostook Made ice Cream), a limited time offering they will feature throughout the month of August at their dairy bars in Presque Isle, Caribou and Houlton. The announcement was made at HFD’s Presque Isle dairy bar on Main Street.
The unique menu item will feature one scoop each of Houlton Farms Dairy’s signature strawberry, vanilla and blueberry ice creams served in either a waffle cone or dish. The treat will be garnished with equally patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles and strawberry sauce to provide a brilliant splash of red.
An order will cost $4 (plus sales tax), with $1 from the sale going toward the purchase of a Giraffe Warmer that will assist in providing care to premature babies at TAMC. The warmer provides uninterrupted thermal support while at the same time giving a caregiver or a team of caregivers complete access and visibility to the newborn, making it much easier to perform procedures such as X-rays and surgery. Houlton Farms Dairy will match each dollar raised through the promotion to support the pediatric equipment purchase.
“This is a most worthwhile partnership as it is both for a great cause and is truly reflective of the best of what Houlton Farms Dairy has delivered to The County for nearly 75 years and at the very core of the service that TAMC has provided for a century,” said Matthew Lincoln of Houlton Farms Dairy. “Since 1938, we at Houlton Farms Dairy have helped parents raise generations of County kids healthy and strong on our dairy products. Since 1912, TAMC has ensured County kids get a healthy start, especially through the efforts of their Women’s and Children’s Unit. As TAMC celebrates their 100th birthday and we look ahead to our 75th anniversary next year, we thought this would be a great way to give back to the County community.”
To make the announcement of the special TAMiC dish, HFD and TAMC enlisted the help of four county kids who have a special connection to the medical center and the charitable organization Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH). TAMC, through its affiliation with Eastern Maine Healthcare System, is a CMNH facility. The funds, raised through the ice cream promotion, will be donated through CMNH, which will provide additional funding to TAMC for purchase of the Giraffe Warmer.
Participating in the announcement and ceremonial taste testing were 6-year-old Kylie Pelletier of Frenchville, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in late 2010 and this past April was named Maine’s 2012 CMNH Champion Child; and 9-year-old Hadley McClean of Presque Isle, who was diagnosed in 2011 with a medulloblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor, and who at the beginning of the year threw a community-wide birthday party where she requested all attendees bring a donation to benefit other children going through what she was experiencing.
Joining with Pelletier and McClean was 3-week-old Aiva Richardson of Caribou and her parents, Lisa Plourde and Adam Richardson. Aiva made headlines when she was born on the Fourth of July, the 100th baby of the 100th year at TAMC. In fact, it was Aiva’s patriotic delivery date that inspired HFD and TAMC to select the red, white and blue ice cream flavors for the TAMiC offering.
The honor of announcing the ice cream flavors that comprise the TAMiC dish was reserved for Miss Maine 2012 Molly Bouchard of Caribou. Bouchard, who put Aroostook County on the map when she was younger by competing as a finalist on the nationally televised “Star Search,” is helping to raise money for CMNH as part of the Miss America Organization’s national efforts to help raise money for children’s hospitals in communities throughout the country. Donations to CMNH under the project will be made in Bouchard’s name.
“I am so pleased to be a part of this project. Growing up in Aroostook County, I have had many a glass of Houlton Farms Dairy milk and spent many a summer evening enjoying the sweet goodness of the county made ice cream that no one makes quite like Houlton Farms Dairy,” said Bouchard. “I invite all county residents and visitors alike to experience a true county tradition and support efforts to raise funds to support children’s health care locally.”
This is the second initiative in as many months launched collaboratively between TAMC, northern Maine’s largest non-profit organization, and county businesses to recognize both the medical center’s centennial and the close connections TAMC shares with the community it serves. Last month, TAMC, Cavendish Farms and Northeast Packaging Co. announced the Centennial Potato Plot project, which will involve the harvesting and packaging of 2 acres of potatoes to give away this fall to community members and political dignitaries.
“I could not think of a better way to celebrate our centennial and the significant role TAMC has played in The County over the past 100 years than to come together with the agricultural community, which has been so influential in the development of both our organization and our region,” said Sylvia Getman, TAMC president and chief executive officer. “We are most grateful to the Lincoln family and Houlton Farms Dairy for partnering with us on this sweet project.”
The TAMiC limited time offer will be available at Houlton Farms Dairy Bars in Presque Isle (Main Street and Aroostook Centre Mall locations), Caribou and Houlton from Aug. 1-31.