BRUNSWICK, ME — UUCB Concerts for a Cause presents the Novel Jazz Septet at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. to raise money for the Brunswick Area Teen Center and Maine Family Planning.  The concert will feature the music of the iconic Duke Ellington and his equally iconic musical collaborator, Billy Strayhorn who, together wrote some 3,000 compositions over their musical careers.

 Novel Jazz Septet, one of Maine’s premiere jazz groups, is now in their 20th year of keeping the musical legacy of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn alive and swinging. The band embarked on a project to go through the massive archive of compositions by Ellington and Strayhorn, transcribe some lesser-known gems for the band and reinterpret them with a 21st century sound.   This has resulted in 3 CDs and a special PBS interview about the project.  In addition, several two-hour programs dedicated to Novel Jazz have been broadcast on Maine Public Radio’s jazz show, “Jazz Tonight” over the years.

 Novel Jazz will perform standard tunes from the Ellington/Strayhorn repertoire plus more compositions that they have recently unearthed from original recordings at the Ellington Archives of the Smithsonian Museum of American History as well as the Strayhorn Collection at the Library of Congress, both in Washington D.C.  

 The musicians of Novel Jazz, Barney Balch (trombone), Michael Mitchell (trumpet), David Clark (guitar), Nathaniel Johengen (reeds), Bill Manning (drums), Mickey Felder (piano), and Herb Maine (bass), travel far and wide, keeping the spirit of Duke and “Sweet Pea” alive and swinging.

 Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $10 for students/children and will be available at the church office, Gulf of Maine Books, or online at https://ticketstripe.com/noveljazz7.

LEWISTON, ME — The Woman’s Hospital Association (WHA) Rotating Art Gallery at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston is proud to display the paintings of Cathy Chappell and Anita Poulin.

Cathy Chappell, a retired CPA, has transformed her love of photography into new outlets for creativity including iris folding which is the focus of her exhibit this month. Iris folding is a paper craft technique that involves folding strips of colored paper to form a design. The center of the design forms an iris—a shape reminiscent of the iris diaphragm of a camera lens. Using animals for her inspiration, she creates pictures with this intricate folding technique. From dinosaurs to unicorns, foxes and bears to elephants, all are on display.

Poulin is a well-known local artist who comes from three generations of artists who have painted scenes of Maine for nearly a century. The owner of GreenWood Gallery, which she founded in 2013, she loves living in a state where “the north light we experience brings out the rich colors” of the natural world. Although her preferred medium for over 40 years has been acrylic, she continues to grow and explore new means of expression, highlighting her versatility as an artist.

The works on display may be purchased through the WHA Gift Shop located adjacent to the main lobby at Central Maine Medical Center. A percentage of sale proceeds benefits patients of CMMC.

 “Elephant” by Cathy Chappell (photograph supplied by artist)

AUGUSTA, ME – The Maine State Chamber of Commerce held its annual meeting and dinner on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta. In addition to hosting a U.S. Senate debate in partnership with NEWS CENTER Maine, the Chamber presented a leadership award to retiring Thomas College President Laurie G. Lachance and honored the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce for their leadership and efforts following the October 2023 mass shooting tragedy in Lewiston. More than 400 people attended the Wednesday event.

The U.S. Senate debate was televised and streamed live and was moderated by NEWS CENTER Maine reporter and anchor Rob Caldwell. The four candidates for the U.S. Senate – incumbent U.S. Senator Angus King, Demi Kouzounas, David Costello, and Jason Cherry – participated.

Lachance received the Chamber’s “Dirigo Award” for her visionary leadership and decades of contributions and service to Maine. From 2012 to 2024, Lachance served as President of Thomas College in Waterville as the college’s 5th President and the first female and alumna to lead the college. From 2004-2012, Lachance was president and CEO of the Maine Development Foundation. Prior to MDF, she served three governors as Maine State Economist. Before joining state government, Lachance was the Corporate Economist at Central Maine Power Company. Lachance joins several Maine Governors, U.S. Senators, and Maine business leaders in receiving the Maine State Chamber’s “Dirigo Award.”

The Maine State Chamber recognized the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce as the 2024 “Dana F. Connors Chamber of the Year” for their leadership, resilience, and commitment to rebuilding and revitalizing the Lewiston-Auburn community in response to the mass shooting tragedy that took place on October 25, 2023, claiming 18 lives and impacting hundreds of people and businesses in the Lewiston-Auburn region and beyond.

Maine State Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Patrick Woodcock said, “The Maine State Chamber is honored to pay tribute to Laurie Lachance for her invaluable leadership and contributions to Maine. Laurie’s career and leadership are a testament to her core belief in Maine and Maine people, and her commitment to achieving success through education opportunities. The Chamber is also honored to recognize the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce for their leadership at the forefront of confronting a tragedy, organizing relief, and inspiring a community to find resilience.”

Woodcock added, “We appreciate the partnership with NEWS CENTER Maine in hosting the U.S. Senate debate before an audience of Chamber members and state and federal leaders and elected officials. We thank the four candidates for participating and sharing their views and priorities to address the major challenges Maine and the nation face.”

The Maine State Chamber also debuted its 2024 edition of OneVoice Maine magazine Wednesday, which pays tribute to Lachance with feature articles about Lachance’s life, career, impact, and legacy, and perspectives from her family, friends, and colleagues, including Governor Janet T. Mills and U.S. Senator Susan Collins.

To view the 2024 edition of OneVoice Maine magazine, please visit https://issuu.com/mainestatechamber/docs/onevoicemaine2024.

LEWISTON, ME — A Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) anesthesiology technician’s transportation challenges have come to an end, thanks to his fellow team members.

Corie Hubbard has been at Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) for less than a year and didn’t tell anyone he was unable to get reliable transportation to and from work.

“It was very challenging, and I almost gave up hope,” Hubbard said. “Even though I was trying to get ahead, every time I came close to buying a car, something else would happen.”

Once his colleagues found out he was silently struggling with transportation, Tina Moring, CRNA, and the entire CMMC perioperative team decided to pool their money. Their hope was to raise $5,000- enough to buy a vehicle that could at least get Corie to and from work.

“Corie is wonderful. He never misses a day of work and is always so positive,” Moring said. “In just 10 days, we raised $11,000. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of his team members as well as other staff who barely knew him.”

Tina did some car shopping and found a 2015 Nissan Rogue. With money left over, they paid for vehicle registration and six months of insurance. She and a crowd of surgeons, nurses, technicians and others surprised Corie in the hospital garage.

“It felt like a dream. It was mind-blowing,” Hubbard said. “I have never cried so much in my life. The first day I drove to work it was so freeing. I drove with the windows down and the wind felt incredible.

“I am so grateful and so humbled. To see all of the people who made this happen for me. I want everyone to know what they did. I want everyone to know the kind of place this is and the kind of people who work here. It’s been life changing.”

LEWISTON, ME — The Androscoggin Retired Educators’ Association will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 13th  at Montello Heights, 550 College Street. The price for this meal is $12.

The speaker for this meeting is Ray Dumont from the Public Theater in Lewiston.

It is recommended that educators arrive one half hour earlier than the meeting time, or 10:00. This will make time to socialize and have coffee and appetizer before the meeting at 10:30.

Androscoggin Retired Educators meets five times per year:

September, October, November, March and April. Dues for the year are $10 for educators, $6 for non-educators spouses or significant others. Members who have reached their 85th birthday no longer need to pay dues.

We invite all educators: teachers, teacher assistants, ed techs, principals, assistant principals,  secretaries, guidance counselors, librarians, anyone who works with children. You need not have taught in Androscoggin County or even in the State of Maine. We welcome all educators regardless where you worked. We look forward to seeing you.

For new members: With your registration please include: Address, email, phone, birth date, and the major educational school district or school where you were located.

Please make checks out to AREA and mail to Gina Fuller, 36 Elliott Ave, Lewiston, Maine 04240.

AUBURN, ME – The holidays are just around the corner and the City of Auburn is looking forward to welcoming residents and visitors alike to downtown Auburn this Christmas.

The city will officially kick off the season on Sunday, December 8 at 3:00PM with its Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting event. The city hasn’t held a traditional Christmas parade for several years and staff are looking forward to bringing it back.

“The Christmas Parade was always a big hit with local families,” said Liz Allen, the city’s director of communications and community engagement. “We took a few years off, but we’re looking forward to kicking off the holiday season in style! We need quite a few participants for this parade to be successful and worthwhile, so I encourage local businesses and organizations to apply right away.” To join the parade, visit auburnmaine.gov.

In addition to parade entries, the city is still seeking a Christmas tree for Festival Plaza. “This is the pine tree state,” added Allen. “Someone in Auburn must have a big, beautiful tree they would like to donate. It would be the ultimate holiday gift to our community.” To nominate your “perfect tree,” visit auburnmaine.gov.

To round out the holiday festivities, the city plans to host an expanded version of their annual “Christmas Shopping Village” on the day of the parade. From 11:00AM to 3:00PM, local artisans and makers are invited to apply to sell their goods in Anniversary Park (New Auburn). Participation is free. To apply for the Christmas Shopping Village, visit auburnmaine.gov