The Mission’s signature event, the Sunbeam Award Gala, is right around the corner. Taking place on August 18 at the Bar Harbor Club, the Gala is the Mission’s annual opportunity to recognize those who embody the ideals of community. This summer, the Gala awardees were selected based on their extraordinary commitment to one of the Mission’s signature programs, EdGE. President John Zavodny has announced the two awardees for the 2022 Sunbeam Award Gala are Les Coleman and the Mission’s Downeast education partners.
President Zavodny shared, “This fall, EdGE celebrates 20 years of healthy, supportive, and challenging programs for children in public schools along the Downeast coast. Our Downeast school partners pour their hearts out every day for these children, and Les Coleman has been an EdGE leader and supporter since the idea was hatched. Their commitment has made the Downeast community stronger and we’re so excited to honor them at the 2022 Sunbeam Award Gala.”
2022 Sunbeam awardee Les Coleman is a longtime and committed advocate for education in Downeast Maine. An early proponent of the EdGE program, he helped forge strong connections between partners for the benefit of Downeast youth. During his tenure on the Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2018, he lent his expertise and wisdom to the Maine Seacoast Mission. Les and his wife Joyce live in Dallas, Texas and Addison, Maine.
For two decades, K-12 schools in Washington and Hancock Counties have partnered with the Mission to offer students and their families afterschool, summer, and in-school opportunities. These 2022 Sunbeam award recipients are a linchpin to Mission education programming. They have grown the number of Downeast students who challenge themselves, engage with their communities, explore the outdoors, and gain social and leadership skills to build personal, career, and educational aspirations.
Schools receiving the Sunbeam Award include Beals Elementary, Cherryfield Elementary, D.W. Merritt Elementary, Harrington Elementary, Jonesport Elementary, Milbridge Elementary, Rose M. Gaffney Elementary, Narraguagus Jr/Sr High School, and Sumner Memorial High School.
Past Sunbeam Award Gala Recipients include:
- 2021 – Acadia Senior College & Sigma Kappa
- 2019 – Bryan Colket and the Sunbeam “All Hands on Deck” Committee & Dr. Diehl Snyder, MDI Hospital Behavioral Health Center
- 2018 – Marjorie Withers & Maine Community Foundation
- 2017 – Robin Alden & Earl Brechlin and Alan Baker, The Mount Desert Islander
- 2016 – Edward R. Flanagan & Cookie Horner and Jack Russell
- 2015 – Joseph M. Murphy & Todd West
- 2014 – Senator George J. Mitchell
- 2013 – Charlie Harrington
- 2012 – Ashley Bryan
- 2011 – Edith R. Dixon & Ralph W. Stanley
- 2010 – Emily A. Sabah-Maren & Gary DeLong
- 2009 – Curtis L. Blake & Marianne Barnicle
- 2008 – Charlotte Bordeaux & Dr. Richard Dimond
- 2007 – James Gower & Henry Harris
- 2006 – Cornelia Greaves Bates & Alf Wakeman
- 2005 – Ruth and Tristram Colket & Myron Sprague
- 2004 – Jill Goldthwait & Fritz Dixon
To request a reservation for the 2022 Sunbeam Award Gala, please do so online at the Gala’s event page. Events and Marketing Coordinator Terri Rodick can be reached at (207) 801-6008 or [email protected] to help with requests as well as answer questions. Due to the pandemic, attendees are asked to be vaccinated, seating is limited, and the event is outdoors under a tent. To learn more about EdGE programming, please visit the EdGE page.