Raymond wrap-up

The past year was definitely challenging, and I suspect many people were happy to see it end. I celebrated the final night of the decade with my family and friends, and we are all looking forward to a promising new year.

I resolved to start the year on a positive note so on New Year’s Day, I went to Old Orchard Beach to watch Team Raymond jump into the ocean. I was amazed at what I witnessed and cannot think of a better way to start the year.

This group of caring teachers joined 350 other brave and adventurous souls and took the plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics of Maine. It was snowing, the waves were raging and the water and air temperatures were in the low 30s, but all of the dippers were smiling, feeling the joy of helping others. It was a record-setting year with more than $71,000 being raised, nearly $5,000 of that from Team Raymond.

Looking back over the past year, I remember many examples of similar acts of kindness and I would like to highlight just a few. Despite the dismal economy, people in Raymond continued to march forward, donating their time, money, energy and expertise to make the world brighter. I hope their accomplishments inspire you like they do me.

The year started off with an election for new school board members. Winning the seats were Jeraldine Kean, Catriona Sangster, and Alizah Shriver, and the three of them would embark on a journey requiring endless hours of work as they joined the board members from Windham to develop the new regional school unit.

February began with many avid skiers and snowboarders from our town hitting the slopes of Shawnee Peak for the 14th Annual Moonlight Charity Challenge Ski-a-thon. They enjoyed a fun-packed afternoon while raising money for Camp Sunshine and the Shawnee Peak Adaptive Ski Program.

Countless hours of work by Tom Noonan and many others ensured another successful Maine Chevrolet Derby which has grown into an exciting weekend offering much more than ice fishing and keeping our town filled with people enjoying the events.

Spring arrived and the Conservation Committee, led by John Rand, invited the public to its final open space workshop and presented maps and the plan which identified Raymond’s most valuable natural and recreational resource areas and how to protect them. This plan would later be adopted at Town Meeting.

Several residents participated in the Casco Raymond Hunger Walk on Good Friday, walking from the Casco Village Church to the Raymond Village Community Church and then back to Casco. This was a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the towns’ food pantries and The Good Shepherd Food Bank.

Jessica Fey organized a Raymond Roadside Clean-Up Day and several residents spent a Saturday picking up the trash on our roadsides. Not only did this effort enhance the beauty of our town, but the proceeds from the returnable bottles and cans collected were donated to the food pantry.

Charissa Kerr of the Raymond Fire Rescue Department coordinated many bone marrow registry drives in her quest to get people on the national registry and save lives.

Summer came and hundreds of seniors enjoyed their final days of high school and celebrated their accomplishments on graduation day. Both Poland Regional High School and Windham High School valedictorians, Alyson Schadler and Patrick Martin respectively, were from Raymond making us proud.

The inaugural Pirate Triathlon was successful with 275 participating in the challenging and festive event held to benefit Camp Sunshine. Raymond was well represented with new and veteran triathletes swimming, pedaling and running their way to the finish line raising money for families of children with life-threatening diseases.

During the Raymond Village Library’s annual plant sale, a new stone bench was placed on the lawn. This bench was donated by Friends of the Library in memory of Scott Libby, a landscape enthusiast who was tragically killed last winter.

Raymond Baseball and Softball concluded another successful year with 194 children participating in the program and capturing both the minor and major league championship titles this year for the Sebago Long Lake division.

September arrived and school began. Given the many difficulties our teenagers face in today’s culture, several parents formed a group to help empower kids to make good choices. This group, called Parents Helping Kids Make Good Choices began holding monthly meetings and offering trainings and workshops.

Casey Hutchinson, a student at Windham High School, displayed her commitment to others by working with Raymond Village Library Director Barbara Thorpe, to provide books to less fortunate children in other countries. At the conclusion of the library’s summer book sale, they took the remaining children’s books and shipped them to those in need in China and Peru.

Several cyclists in town participated in the 9th Annual Loon Echo Hike ‘n Bike Trek raising money to benefit land conservation projects and programs.

The Dempsey Challenge brought 3500 riders to town from all over the country. Actor Patrick Dempsey, as well as three professional cyclists, led the group of riders through Raymond providing quite the sight to see and raising more than a million dollars for cancer research.

Our middle school cross country running teams, coached by John Dionne and John Keller, finished their season with outstanding success earning undefeated records for both the girls’ and boys’ teams. In addition, Kristina Smith and Robbie Blair finished in first place in every race.

Third-grade Brownies, led by Martha Page and Catriona Sangster, gave back to the community by working in the Casco Food Pantry, visiting nursing homes, and enhancing the Sheri Gagnon Memorial Park by picking up trash, moving benches, and weeding and replanting the flower beds.

For the third consecutive year, Raymond Cares participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer three-mile charity walk. This team of inspiring women from Raymond joined 3,000 other walkers and raised nearly $250,000.

With colder temperatures and holidays amongst us, people were still busy helping others and bringing the year to a successful end.

Eighth-grade teacher Marilee Dunklee directed a special project called Honoring Our Heroes where her students interviewed local veterans of foreign wars and wrote stories about their experiences. These stories will be published in a book with copies given to each of the veterans.

The middle school math team, directed by Jack Fitch, competed against 10 other schools and won the overall meet. In addition, they brought home top place finishes in grade and individual competitions.

Sadly, Chris Brum was diagnosed with adrenal cancer, and a group of caring people found ways to help. A Zumbathon was held and people gathered for a fun workout while raising $2,400. A holiday craft fair also had a fabulous turnout with another $1,300 raised for the Brum family.

This is just a small glimpse of all that was accomplished in our town by its many organizations, dedicated volunteers and generous people. I thank you all and look forward to a positive year ahead.