April 11, 2011 Bar Harbor, Maine — The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation is boosting science education in Maine with a $10,000 award to The Jackson Laboratory to support the upcoming Maine State Science Fair.
Sheryl Edgecomb, vice president and Ellsworth branch manager of Bangor Savings Bank, and Rose White, vice president for retail services, presented the award at a brief ceremony at the Laboratory on Thursday, April 7.
"With this gift," Edgecomb said, "the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation is demonstrating its commitment to improving opportunities for Maine’s youth and helping its communities become more prosperous, more livable and more vibrant."
Professor Bob Braun, Ph.D., associate director and chair of research at The Jackson Laboratory, accepted the award on behalf of the institution’s education staff. In thanking the Bangor Savings Bank, Braun said, "As a young person back in Colorado Springs, I was in a science fair, and it really drove me into science. This gift is going to benefit the entire state of Maine."
After the presentation, Justin Lipkvich, Amberosity Davis and the team of Andy Gallup and Ransom Burgess, all Mount Desert Island Regional High School students, talked about their Fair projects. They are the first MDI High students ever to participate in the Maine State Science Fair.
Fifteen schools and close to 200 student projects are registered for the Maine State Science Fair, which takes place at The Jackson Laboratory on Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (The planners moved the original venue, MDI High, to the Laboratory because that date is now a snow-day makeup day at the school.)
As part of its educational mission, the Laboratory took on the coordination role last summer when the 60-year old Maine State Science Fair languished for lack of funding. "We feel strongly that Maine cannot be the only state without a science fair," said Randy Smith, Ph.D., director of educational programs at The Jackson Laboratory. “This is especially important today when a solid STEM education is critical for preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s jobs.”
Bangor Savings Bank, with more than $2.5 billion in assets, offers retail banking and investment management services to Maine consumers as well as comprehensive commercial, corporate, payroll administration, insurance, and small business banking services to Maine businesses. The Bank, founded in 1852, is in its 159th year of service to the people of Maine and has 55 branches. The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation was created in 1997. Together the Bank and its Foundation invest more than a million dollars per year into the community in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants and partnership initiatives.
The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.
Help employers find you! Check out all the jobs and post your resume.
