Camden National Bank recognizes six Maine nonprofit board directors and their organizations with 2019 Leaders & Luminaries Awards and $22,000 in grants

​Camden, Maine, November 12, 2019 – Camden National Bank recognized six nonprofit board directors with 2019 Leaders & Luminaries Awards and $22,000 in grants for their respective organizations. The awards breakfast took place during Maine Association of Nonprofits’ executive forum, “Focus on Strategic Board Recruitment: Connecting People with Purpose.”

Camden National Bank recently awarded $22,000 to six Maine nonprofits on behalf of 2019 Leaders & Luminaries Award Winners. Pictured left to right: Renee Smyth, Chief Marketing & Experience Officer, Camden National Bank; Clayton Cleaves, Four Directions Development Corporation; Katie Shorey, Startup Maine; Lydia MacDonald, Island Community Center; John Manganello, Boots2Roots; Barrett Brown, Midcoast Recreation Center; Virginia Marriner (on behalf of Katie Feliciano), Literacy Volunteers of Greater Augusta; Greg Dufour, President & CEO, Camden National Bank.

Since the Leaders & Luminaries Awards began in 2011, Camden National Bank has now given $152,000 to 43 Maine nonprofits through its private charitable foundation, The Bank of Maine Foundation.
 
“Our Leaders & Luminaries Awards aim to shine a spotlight on the critical impact that volunteer board directors have each day,” said Greg Dufour, President & CEO of Camden National Bank. “We couldn’t be prouder of this year’s awardees who bring passion, strategic vision, and leadership to their organizations in order to strengthen our communities.”
 
This year, over 55 nonprofit board members were nominated by the community for a Leaders & Luminaries Award. Camden National Bank’s Leaders & Luminaries independent selection committee selected four Leaders & Luminaries Award Winners, each receiving $5,000 grants, an Emerging Leader Award Winner and a Spotlight Award Winner, each receiving $1,000 grants.
2019 Leaders & Luminaries Award Winners:

• John Manganello, Co-Founder & Board President, Boots2Roots

John co-founded Boots2Roots with Colonel Dave Hickey in 2016 when they saw a significant gap in services for active duty military members separating from service or retiring to Maine. John helped draft the original Boots2Roots business plan, and he was instrumental in nonprofit incorporation, drafting bylaws, recruiting a diverse board, hiring staff, and creating long-term sustainability. Boots2Roots is now the only organization in Maine focused on proactively working with soon-to-be veterans up to a year before they come to Maine, and John has been instrumental in their success.
 

• Lydia MacDonald, Board Trustee and former Board President, Island Community Center

Lydia, a lifelong resident of Stonington, first joined the Island Community Center board of trustees in 2016. Passionate, dedicated, and a natural leader, Lydia eventually became the Board President during a challenging time for the Island Community Center. Significant funding was needed to repair and upgrade their building, but Lydia stepped up to rally the board, reinvigorate positivity, recruit new board members, and develop a “Save Our Center” public campaign. Lydia was the driving force in building open lines of communication with key partners and putting the community center on a new path of stability and success.

• Katie Feliciano, Board Vice-Chair, Literacy Volunteers of Greater Augusta (LVA)

Katie first became involved with LVA in 2014 as a passionate volunteer tutor, and in 2016, she joined the board. In addition to eagerly attending events and fundraisers, Katie brought her experiences as a tutor to board conversations in order to propel advancement and growth. At the board’s strategic planning retreat in 2018, she played a key role in establishing a sub-committee for tutor support that would work to engage board members in tutor outreach and develop easily accessible online trainings for tutors. With the support of the full board, Katie helped propose action items that would lead to a culture focused on making LVA part of a cohesive learning community.
 

• Barrett Brown, Board President, Midcoast Recreation Center (MRC)

Barrett joined MRC’s board of directors with a focus on achieving measurable goals, building a strong community, and creating long-term sustainability. As Board President, he led the process of hiring a new Executive Director with the skills to improve best practices, create tighter financial controls, increase board involvement, and initiate annual support campaigns. As a result, the organization reached exciting milestones with audits in place, an active finance committee, and a new treasurer and finance director as well. Barrett also focused on creating a strong, strategic board of directors by aligning board practices, creating a governance committee, and recruiting new members with needed skillsets. Board job descriptions, by-laws, succession planning, and recruitment practices were all updated and put into action, uniting the board’s vision for success as they began a strategic planning process.
 
2019 Emerging Leader Award:

• Katie Shorey, Board Chair, Startup Maine

Katie had been serving as a loyal volunteer at Startup Maine for several years when the Board nominated her to become the new president. During this time, the organization faced a challenging situation and a public relations crisis, but Katie immediately stepped up to lead with strength and diplomacy. Under her leadership over the past two years, Startup Maine has officially become a nonprofit with an expanded mission and several new key partnerships. Katie has helped rebuild and rebrand Startup Maine and grow its community of supporters. With Katie at the helm, Startup Maine is creating a strong, lasting impact in Maine’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
 
2019 Spotlight Award:

• Clayton Cleaves, Board Director, Four Directions Development Corporation

When Clayton first heard about Four Directions Development Corporation, a Native American Community Development Financial Institution which provides support to members of the Wabanaki tribes, he saw an opportunity to help the Passamaquoddy people. As the Director of the Passamaquoddy Housing department on the Pleasant Point/Sipayik reservation, Clayton had seen too many houses in need of repair and causing health problems, high bills, and unsafe conditions for families. He also understood the challenges the tribe faced when trying to get a mortgage due to tribal and federal legal restrictions. As board director leading with passion and humility, Clayton demonstrates outstanding leadership as a coach and mentor on the board, and he has played an essential role in developing new, safe infrastructure on the reservation. 

​About Camden National Corporation
Camden National Corporation (NASDAQ:CAC) is the largest publicly traded bank holding company in Northern New England with $4.5 billion in assets and nearly 650 employees. Camden National Bank, its subsidiary, is a full-service community bank founded in 1875 in Camden, Maine. Dedicated to customers at every stage of their financial journey, the bank offers the latest in digital banking, complemented by personalized service with 60 banking centers, 24/7 live phone support, 71 ATMs, and lending offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Camden National Bank was named one of two “Customer Experience Leaders in U.S. Retail Banking” by Greenwich Associates, and in 2019, it was the only New England based organization included in Sandler O’Neill’s “Bank & Thrift Sm-All Star” list of high-performing financial institutions. The Finance Authority of Maine has awarded Camden National Bank as “Lender at Work for Maine” for nine years. Comprehensive wealth management, investment, and financial planning services are delivered by Camden National Wealth Management. To learn more, visit CamdenNational.com. Member FDIC.

CONTACT:
Gretchen Williams
PR & Communications Officer
Camden National Bank
(207) 518-5684