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

Part of the bank's "Peoples Promise" program

Ten Maine high school seniors who graduated in the spring of 2001 were awarded $2,500 each by Peoples Heritage Bank as part of the bank's annual Peoples Promise scholarship program to reward Maine students for academic excellence and help offset their higher education costs.

The students were recognized June 13 at an awards luncheon sponsored by the bank and featuring Joan Benoit Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic gold medal marathoner who serves as a spokesperson for the bank. The scholarships are being administered by the MES Foundation. 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. This is the third year for the program.

Students receiving the $2,500 scholarships were: Chelsea Feeney of Portland, a senior at Portland High School; Truc Huynh of Portland, a senior at Portland High School; Rachel Main of Brunswick, a senior at Brunswick High School; Sarah Jacobs of Bangor, a senior at John Bapst Memorial High School; Nicole Stinson of Milford, a senior at Orono High School; Ashley Pullen of Oakland, a senior at Messalonskee High School; Tristan Noyes of Caribou, a senior at Caribou High School; Sheena Pass of Coopers Mills, a senior at Erskine Academy; Scott Porter of Van Buren, a senior at Van Buren District Secondary School; and Tristan Blanchard of Carroll Plantation, a senior at Lee Academy.

"We are committed to expanding the opportunities available to Maine youth by assisting them with the ever-increasing cost of education," said Michael W. McNamara, president and CEO of Peoples Heritage Bank. "With this scholarship program, we hope to make a difference in the lives of these worthy recipients and other young people in our state. It's another way to give back to the communities we serve."

Scholarship recipients also are offered a three-month paid internship at Peoples Heritage Bank. 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 whereby Peoples employees volunteer more than 400 hours in classrooms throughout the year to teach more than 1,000 sixth graders about economic concepts.

Also part of the bank's initiative is the annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day, held last month, organized by Junior Achievement and sponsored in the Greater Portland area by Peoples. The event allows middle-grade students to see what a real job is like.

Additionally, Peoples' charitable giving is focused on organizations providing support to children, including the YMCA, YWCA, 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 children's charity each year. This years race, which will be held on August 4, will benefit the Kids First Center, which helps children cope with divorce or separation. As the 2001 race beneficiary, the Kids First Center, based in Portland with programs offered statewide, will receive $30,000 in race proceeds.

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 online at http://www.peoplesheritage.com.

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