Maureen Morison’s Young Americans wish the audience “Happy Holidays”.

By Faye Nicholson and Gregor Smith

Despite an autumnal monsoon, some 150 area residents came together on a recent Saturday evening to celebrate the diverse contributions of our community’s many volunteers. REM held its annual Community Volunteers Awards Ceremony at the Waterville Opera House on November 14.

Although REM put on the celebration, it did so for the benefit of all 52 REM Partners, a coalition of local nonprofit organizations convened by REM to help make each organization aware of each other’s work in the community and to facilitate collaboration. Banners for each of the Partners were hung on the stage, and each organization was invited to select one or more of its own volunteers to receive a REM award crystal.

Janet Delile

Kathy Van Deventer

Faye Nicholson, REM’s Executive Director, says, “We always hear about the ‘bad’ things happening in our world. For every ‘bad’ thing there are thousands of ‘good’ things to be proud of. It’s important to celebrate our accomplishments. Honoring volunteers who have generously given of their time and talents plants the seeds for new accomplishments and encourages growth of volunteerism.”

The evening was a tribute in song and dance culminating in the presentation of the awards. Featured performers were vocalist Janet Delile, dancers from the Maureen Morison’s Young Americans Dance Center, and assorted drummers, many of whom brought us “Drums Along the Kennebec” at Head of Falls in October. The drummers included Red Hawk Medicine Drum, Kathy Van Deventer of Ferg N’ Sons, and a group of frame drummers led by Robyn Deveney and Phyllis Capanna. Former radio host Eric Leimbach was the master of ceremonies.

REM’s own honoree Ron Woodbrey stands onstage between REM President Marlene Myers and REM Executive Director Faye Nicholson.

The centerpiece of the 80-minute gala was a three-part PowerPoint presentation featuring each of the honorees and the honoring organizations. After Part I of this presentation, some 21 dancers from dressed as red and white elves presented “Happy Holidays,” a lively high-stepping routine with a medley of seasonal songs as the soundtrack and concluding with an appearance by Santa Claus. During the second break in the slide show, Janet Delile sang a soulful ballad, “You Are My Home,” followed by the up-tempo “Mom Song,” a compilation of all the things a mother might say to her children in the course of a day, sung in under three minutes to Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture.

After the PowerPoint, the drummers took to the stage, performing individually and in small groups culminating in an “awesome drum jam” to recreate the one that concluded the Drums Along the Kennebec Festival. Finally, each honoree, accompanied by two escorts from the honoring organization, stepped forward to receive an awards scroll and crystal medallion.

Tasty treats await honorees and guests at the post-ceremony reception.

Following the awards presentation, the frame drummers assembled on the mezzanine of the Opera House lobby to play as the audience streamed down to a reception in the REM Forum, where gourmet treats, some salty, some sweet, awaited. These savory selections were prepared by Barbara Biche, Jean Sawyer, and Marilyn Spaulding of Dreamers Creative Catering, a group of REM volunteers who provide catering services for community events held in REM spaces in The Center.

The awards ceremony also saw the debut of the REM Partners 2010 Community Directory. The directory includes mini-biographies for each of the honorees and write-ups for every one of the 52 REM Partners. Everyone who attended the ceremony was given a free copy. The directory is published annually; the newest version is available elsewhere on this website.

Many backstage volunteers came together to make the ceremony a success. Besides the people previously mentioned, REM especially thanks Maureen Morison for planning the ceremony; Robert Morison and Mike Martineau for preparing the stage lighting; Marilyn Ladd for cleaning up; Faye Nicholson for washing out many punch cups; Jim Bowdoin for taking the pictures of the honorees for the directory; Jackie Dalton for laying out the directory; Laura Guite of Central Maine CATV of Fairfield for taping the ceremony for subsequent broadcast; and Debbie Gendreau for carrying out a myriad of tasks with efficiency and aplomb.

All of the 2009 honorees and their escorts stand on stage to receive the audience’s applause near the close of the ceremony. This photo was taken by Gregor Smith; the others on this page were by Jim Nicholson.

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