The 8,000-square-foot building also will house the offices of Mount Desert 365, the nonprofit organization that is constructing it, and two two bedroom apartments that will be available for year-round rental.
La Rochelle – The Colket Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2019
For More Information
Contact – Scott K Fish, Mission Communication & Marketing
sfish@seacoastmission.org or 207-458-7185
Maine Seacoast Mission Finalizes Sale of La Rochelle HQ; Looks Forward to the Future
BAR HARBOR, ME — One door closes, more open. La Rochelle, the longtime Bar Harbor headquarters of the Maine Seacoast Mission, was sold on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 to the Bar Harbor Historical Society. With the sale, the Mission says a fond farewell to a special part of its history, while looking forward with enthusiasm to the future.
Proceeds from the sale will be placed in the Mission endowment.
“We’re treating this transfer of assets as an investment in the Mission’s long-term future,” said Mission President John Zavodny. “From now on, La Rochelle will be part of every student we help send to college, every bite of fresh produce at our Cherryfield food pantry, and every islander who gets medical help through the Sunbeam V. We are most grateful to the Colket family for the enduring gift of La Rochelle,” said President Zavodny.
The Mission’s new office in Northeast Harbor will carry on the Colket Center name. For the first time the Mission headquarters and the Sunbeam V will be in one place. The commute to-and-from the Mission’s Downeast Campus in Cherryfield stays the same.
Zavodny expects to move to the Northeast Harbor location in 2020. Meanwhile, the Mission will lease space in La Rochelle from the historical society.
Mission Board Chair Stacey Smith said, “As Colket Center rooms emptied and Mission artifacts were packed away, our minds were on the generous support and compassionate leadership of Ruth and Tris Colket.
“My most treasured memories of this house center around the lively Mission Board of Director’s discussions at the dining room table. Conversations that helped develop programs like EdGE and the current Sunbeam V refit.
“Change is hard, excitement is contagious. I am very excited to see what the future holds for the Mission,” said Stacey Smith.
Meanwhile, all Mission contact information — email addresses, phone numbers, social media pages, and web site will stay the same.
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BAR HARBOR, ME — Following a lunch meeting at the Mission’s Colket Center headquarters, Sunbeam V Captain Mike Johnson, Island Health Director Sharon Daley, and Island Outreach Director Douglas Cornman traveled to the Sunbeam in Northeast Harbor.
The crew had appointments on Vinalhaven and Matinicus Islands. But they were also watching the snowstorm due to hit Maine between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm Tuesday, February 12. Conditions were right, Capt. Mike Johnson said at yesterday afternoon’s meeting, for icing. That is, ice buildup on the Sunbeam exterior, which is especially bad news if you’re on the ocean, miles from land.
Capt. Johnson came up with a workaround plan, requiring the Sunbeam crew to travel off-schedule at odd hours, but enabling the crew to keep its island appointments in advance of the impending snowstorm.
In an email this morning to Mission President Scott Planting, Capt. Johnson said of the boat and crew:
We got to Vinalhaven around 6:30 PM and had dinner and went to bed. We got up at 11:45 PM and made the 1hour and 15 minute run to Matinicus.
There was slight icing on the run to Vinalhaven and none on the trip to Matinicus due to the downwind nature of the route. I don’t always get every detail perfect, but this one was planned well and was a comfortable easy trip.
We leave here today at 2PM.
President Planting said of Captain Johnson’s message: This is dedication.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2019
For More Information:
Contact:
Scott K Fish, Communications and Marketing
sfish@seacoastmission.org or 207-458-7185
John Zavodny, Ph.D., to be new Maine Seacoast Mission President
BAR HARBOR, ME — The Maine Seacoast Mission has announced that John Zavodny, Ph.D., will be its new president beginning on February 19, 2019.
Stacey Smith, board Chair, noted that “we are fortunate to welcome John to the Mission. During our interviews with him his excitement and compassion for the work of the Mission and an understanding of life in rural Maine were evident. He is a broad and collaborative thinker, an empathetic communicator and we look forward to the next chapters of the Maine Seacoast Mission with John at the helm.”
Dr. Zavodny comes to the Mission from his current position as chief of staff at Unity College in Unity, Maine. Unity College offers a unique education based on sustainability science that engages students with its rural environment. During his 18-year career at Unity College, Dr. Zavodny has also served as professor of philosophy and humanities, academic chair, director of the Center for Environmental Arts and Humanities, and dean of academic services.
Dr. Zavodny has also been active as a community volunteer, serving on the board of WERU Community Radio in Orland and in various capacities for the Camden Conference and the Maine Humanities Council, among others. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in classical languages from Lipscomb University. He currently lives in Belfast, Maine, but plans to relocate to the Mount Desert Island area.
Dr. Zavodny assumes the Mission’s presidency with the retirement of the Reverend Scott Planting, who has served as president since 2010.
“What an incredible opportunity and humbling responsibility,” said Zavodny. “Over the last century, leaders like Scott Planting have helped Maine Seacoast Mission establish a powerful history of service with island and coastal Maine communities. With the support of the board, friends of the Mission, and amazing team of professionals already in place we can steward that legacy, honor community relationships, and build on the good work that has already been accomplished,” said Dr. Zavodny.
As president, Dr. Zavodny will oversee the operation of the Maine Seacoast Mission and its many programs delivered from campuses in Bar Harbor and Cherryfield and from the Sunbeam, a 74-foot boat. Since 1905, the Mission has served the isolated communities of the unbridged islands and coastal villages of Hancock and Washington counties with health, education, food assistance, Christmas, and community-building programs, and pastoral care.
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Maine Seacoast Mission – 127 West St. – Bar Harbor, ME – 04609
BAR HARBOR, ME — Maine Seacoast Mission Scholarships Program Manager Terri Rodick sends this link to Emma Ressel’s art photography book, reminding us, “Emma is one of our scholarship alumni. She received a scholarship all four years 2012-13,14,15. She graduated Mount Desert Island high school.”
Emma Ressel (b. Bar Harbor, Maine, 1994) is a fine-art photographer who creates surreal still life photographs of food. Her photographs are surprising compositions that do away with pure aesthetic pleasure and are unafraid to depict rot, nonsensical combinations of ingredients, and a vague, undefined story. Ressel recently had a solo show at Woods Gallery at Bard College, and her work has been exhibited in numerous group shows in galleries including Artemis Gallery in Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Ressel’s work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Applications and Re-applications for the Mission 2019 Scholarship Program are available now. Click here.
BAR HARBOR, ME — Christina Griffith has joined the Maine Seacoast Mission, based in Bar Harbor, as Program Director for New Education Initiatives, where she will develop new college preparation and scholarship programs for students in Washington and Hancock counties.
“Christina has real expertise in programs that help students prepare for and succeed in college,” says Scott Planting, president of the Maine Seacoast Mission. “She has designed and launched successful programs in New Mexico, collaborating on similar programs in other states, and we’re fortunate to have her here in Maine now.”
Ms. Griffith has a strong background in education. She has served as a high school principal and a consultant working with schools to ensure college access and success for historically marginalized students.
From 2010 to 2016, she worked with the New Mexico Simon Scholars program to design a college preparation and transition curriculum and support structures that serve students who are low income and first-generation college bound.
From 2016 until her recent move to Maine, Ms. Griffith collaborated with the Native American Community Academy Network to facilitate strategic post-secondary planning and professional development on behalf of schools that serve Native American students in New Mexico. She has degrees from Bard College and the Harvard Divinity School.
“I am deeply grateful to join an organization that daily demonstrates its commitment to honoring, learning from and contributing to rural communities in ways that matter and last,” Griffith says. “I am excited about the hopeful work ahead and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on behalf of the wonderful students, families, schools and communities the Seacoast Mission serves.”
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Portland Press Herald
Feb. 20, 2019
NEW HIRES
Christina Griffith joined Maine Seacoast Mission in Bar Harbor as program director for new education initiatives. Griffith brings a strong background in education including experience as a high school principal and a consultant. From 2010 to 2016, she worked with the New Mexico Simon Scholars program. Most recently, she collaborated with the Native American Community Academy Network.