Peoples Awards $25,000 in Scholarships to 10 Maine High School Graduates

Part of the bank's 'Peoples Promise' program

Ten Maine high school 2004 graduates were awarded $2,500 each by Peoples Heritage Bank as part of the bank’s annual Peoples Promise scholarship program to reward Maine students and help offset their higher education costs.

Senior students receiving the $2,500 scholarships were: Joel A. Alex of Old Town, John Babst Memorial High School; Melissa L. Bell of Bar Mills, Portland High School; Jennifer E. Flynn of Winthrop, Winthrop High School; Shalise M. Forti of Bangor, Bangor High School; Heather S. Gray of Wiscasset, Wiscasset High School; Rebecca J. Kernahan of Brunswick, Brunswick High School; Lindsay F. Leone of Edgecomb, Wiscasset High School; Maria C. Stauble of Gray, Westbrook High School; Timothy M. Williams of Lewiston, St. Dominic Regional High School; and Eric M. Young of Brewer, Brewer High School.
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Scholarship recipients also are offered an optional three-month paid internship position with Peoples after their first year of post-secondary education.

Peoples Heritage Bank has pledged $250,000 to establish a 10-year scholarship fund to help young people in Maine attain marketable skills through education. The scholarships are being administered by the MES Foundation. This is the sixth year for the program.

“We are committed to expanding the opportunities available to Maine youth, and assisting them with the ever-increasing cost of education is one way to accomplish that,” said Michael W. McNamara, president and CEO of Peoples. “Post-secondary education for students is vital to Maine’s continued economic development. Our scholarship program is a way in which we can help facilitate college enrollment.”

The Peoples Promise program, which has been recognized nationally by the America’s Promise Program as a significant “promise-maker,” also includes a school outreach program in which Peoples employees volunteer more than 400 hours in classrooms throughout the year to teach more than 1,000 sixth graders about economic concepts.

Additionally, Peoples’ charitable giving and sponsorships are focused on organizations providing support to children, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, March of Dimes and others. The annual Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race held in Cape Elizabeth also benefits a different Maine children’s charity each year. This year’s race, which will be held on August 1, will benefit Riding To The Top (RTT), a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding services to children and adults with physical, emotional and/or learning disabilities. Peoples, through the Banknorth Charitable Foundation, will provide a cash donation of $30,000 to RTT.

Peoples Heritage Bank is a Maine-based bank with more than 60 branches throughout the state, four of which operate as Oxford Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of the bank. For additional information about Peoples, visit onliaf?it www.peoplesheritage.com.

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