We are down to our final two award winner profiles from the Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards held in mid-March at St. John’s Community Center. If you missed the previous six profiles of Jim Howard, Sitelines, MaineHealth Midcoast Hospital, Fairwinds Farm, OystHERS Raw Bar & Bubbly, or the Bath Area Family YMCA, do go back to the previous weeks’ columns. Also, the videos shown at the Awards Night can be found both on the Bath Brunswick Regional Chamber Facebook and YouTube channels (we will be adding Topsham to those names in a few weeks).

This week, we are honoring Hannah Chatalbash, executive director of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Hannah deflects much of her well-earned praise, but that won’t keep me from telling you why she is so worthy to be the Young Professional of the Year.

Before that, though, there have been some regional business happenings (and some upcoming) I want to highlight to keep you updated on what’s happening locally — here we go:

Several local events have released their dates so be aware of the following:

• 13th Annual Hacker’s Ball, May 9, at Brunswick Golf Club: the chamber’s fundraising golf tournament, which is silly and fun, as tournaments should be; details at midcoastmaine.com.

• Run for Independence, May 10, on Brunswick Landing: a fundraiser for Independence Association in its 13th year.

• Plunge for the Funds, May 17, at Spark Cycling Studio: This ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) fundraiser includes a cold ice plunge for up to five minutes for participants — it raised over $30,000 in its first year in 2024.

• Miles for Mills 5K Walk/Run and 10K Run, May 25: This fundraiser for the Travis Mills Foundation routinely pulls over 1,500 participants and volunteers to Brunswick Landing and goes to helping wounded veterans recalibrate when they get home.

• Claws N’ Country, July 27: This country music festival is put on by Cook’s Lobster & Ale House in association with WPOR and is a fundraising concert for the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum and Memorial Gardens. Scheduled performers include Don Campbell Band, Chase Jobe and the Mallet Brothers Band.

New restaurants: Pomelia is a new local spot in Brunswick in the former Scarlet Begonia’s space on Station Avenue. The Sicilian-inspired cuisine is a little spicy and so delicious. Also, the Great Impasta has a new home, and it’s open on Pleasant Street in Brunswick in the space that was most recently home to Maiz Colombian Street Food. It has traditional favorites coming out of the kitchen and more seating than its last location, which is such a plus for those that love the Italian offerings.

Sweetser in Brunswick is having a ribbon-cutting at noon on April 24 at its Bath Road location. Come check out its new space and find out about all of the integral programs Sweetser brings to our region.

Now let’s get into Hannah’s story ,and you can see what makes her such a special honoree this year.

2025 Young Professional of the Year: Hannah Chatalbash

Many of us feel like the work we do is important and has impact, and that is wonderful — it’s how you make a fulfilling life. Yet, there are people in our community that the rest of us marvel at. These specific professionals — who have skill sets that would make them thrive in any industry to which they chose to bring their talents — have instead decided to devote their efforts to the biggest needs in the community, meaning, they work for local nonprofits. These organizations succeed because of the teamwork, perseverance and the savvy of these professionals, and we get to honor one of those people this year in Hannah Chatalbash.

Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program has been around since 1983 but really has grown in significance and impact in the last 15 years. The organization has exploded in growth, trying to match the need of the region, and now serves over 1.2 million meals per year in this region. To be able to provide that level of service requires an incredible staff, sponsorship support and around 350 volunteers per week.

Hannah is quick to redirect any praise she receives to the staff and her volunteers. Yet, MCHPP’s growth coincides with a timeline of Hannah’s involvement with the organization. Hannah joined the organization around 2010 at a time when the annual operating budget was $350,000 — today it is seven times that at $2.5 million, alluding to the immense growth over the past decade and a half. The most notable change in that time was the development of MCHPP’s new administrative facility and food storage on Brunswick Landing, which has given them more capacity and even includes a commercial kitchen that fledging businesses and others can rent to use.

It’s never easy taking over for a veteran leader in any organization, but Hannah has exemplified how to make a smooth transition while growing the organization, too, as the executive director of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Her predecessor, Karen Parker, is someone who Hannah has great respect for and who she credits with a lot of her growth, along with the great MCHPP team. Hannah has dedicated much of her career to helping with food insecurity in our region and as the deputy director and development director at MCHPP (prior to becoming the ED); she has been an integral part of helping the organization grow to where they are today.

Even though Hannah will undoubtedly share any accolades she receives, there is something to be said about the dedicated leader, who is working in her hometown and using those connections to help the region thrive and help bring food to needy families. We all do important work, but some do it in such a way that it inspires others. Thank you, Hannah, for being that kind of inspirational leader.

Congratulations to the 2025 Young Professional of the Year, Hannah Chatalbash.

Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Regional Chamber of Commerce.