(rendition of finished project)
Click the photo to see the progress
Goody Gilman, Gwen Emery and Don Emery breaking the
ground! yea!
NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER LAUNCHES GROUNDBREAKING CAMPAIGN!!!
You can still be a part of Newport history and join the "Groundbreakers
Club". Your name will be prominently and permanently recognized within the
Cultural Center!
To obtain a form to join the Groundbreakers
Club you may download most recent newsletter in PDF
format or call 368-4410.
A Pledge from Away
A former resident of Corinna and a graduate of Nokomis, Class of 1972,
has pledged to the Newport Cultural Center. Captain Rick Wesley and his
wife Dianne, who now reside in Savanah, Georgia, read about NCC on the
town of Newport website. He contacted the town office and made a pledge of
$10,000, naming a bench in the landscaping.
In speaking with Captain Wesley, he stated how he believed this project
to be an exceptional endeavor, not just for Newport, but for all the
surrounding communities. He also expressed his desire to do something for
his home state, especially for the local community which had been so much
a part of his life.
We are thankful for his gift and for the fact that this website is
reaching far beyond Newport's borders.
THE NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER BUILDING PROJECT:
$1.1 M+ RAISED SO
FAR
Olivia McAnirlin presents
the Newport Cultural Center with $507.
On Friday, October 6th , Olivia McAnirlin, a sixth grade student at
Sebasticook Valley Middle School, presented Gwen Emery with a gift of $507.00 dollars to be put toward the Newport
Cultural Center's Capital Campaign. Olivia spent her summer vacation
embarking on a personal read-a-thon in which she read over 30 books with a
minimum of 150 pages each. She asked friends, family members and the
Gannett Foundation to sponsor her for the amount of books read. By the
time school had started, she had raised a total of $507.00.
Giving to her community by raising money for the Newport Cultural
Center has become as important to Olivia as reading. In 2002, while in the
fourth grade, Olivia had also given up her summer vacation for the sake of
books, raising $120.00 for the Newport Cultural Center. On Wednesday,
October 11th, the Newport Cultural Center Board of Directors presented
Olivia with the "Cultured Kids Award" in recognition of her outstanding
community service.
The Erbs and the "Book Buddy" Program
On Friday, September 26th, Cindi Fredette's first grade class and Lisa
Sawyer's third grade class went to the Newport Public Library as part of
their "Book Buddy" program. Once there, the children were given $500.00 by
Ray and Tina Erb of Newport Metals who wanted to do
something that would help school children with books and reading programs.
The children, in turn, gave the donation to the Newport Cultural Center in
order to build a better library.
The "Book Buddy" program is designed to facilitate first and third
graders reading together, as well as working together on crafts and
activities. According to Mrs. Fredette "This not only fosters friendships
in and outside of school, but also fosters reading and a love of learning
for the children." This program and others like it will be promoted by the
Newport Cultural Center which has as part of its mission to "enhance the
cultural life of it's patrons through access to educational, historical
and recreational resources"
FIRST ANNUAL
NEWPORT CULTURAL CENTER
5K RUN / WALK and 1 M FUN
RUN
Boy Scout Troop 63 gives $10,000.00 to Newport Cultural
Center
Scouts in Boy Scout Troop #63 recently took part in an awards ceremony
at Newport during which they made a gift to the Newport Cultural Center in
the amount of $10,000.00. Eagle Scout Dustin Kokotovich, presented the
check to the Paula Scott, Secretary of the Advisory Board.
After individual awards were given to the Scouts, the Troop made a
presentation to representatives from the NCC Advisory Board, Building
Committee, and Community Committee. According to Michael Cuskelly, Sr.
District Executive of the Penquis District, Katahdin Area Council,
"Scouting teaches to always give back to the community and this is how we
do that. But it's not just what we do, it's what we build. We
buildcharacter that will last these boys throughout their lives. The
facilities we have are the mechanisms to make it happen."
February Newsletter
available as PDF (for Adobe Reader)
BUDS SHOP 'N SAVE GIVES $10,000
The Newport
Cultural Center has received a check for $10,000.00 from Bud's Shop n
Save, Newport branch, naming the large storage area in the lower level.
"This is an incredible opportunity for Newport and we are happy to be on
board."stated owner Dean Homstead (shown in photo on right).
Upon receiving the check, Mike Crosby (in photo on left), Co-Chair of
the Capital Campaign committee stated "We appreciate the very generous
gift of $10,000.00 from Dean Homstead and Bud's Shop'n Save. Every gift to
our worthy project is appreciated. These large capital donations
especially give us all a boost and the courage to press on toward our
August goal of breaking ground."
For information on naming gifts, please contact the town office at
368-4410.
January Newsletter
available as PDF (for Adobe Reader)
The campaign to build the Newport Cultural Center, represents a major
collaborative effort between the Public Library and Historical
Society.
In 1993 the Library Board of Trustees recognized that space limitations
were hampering the library's ability to serve patrons and fulfill it's
mission. The Trustees determined that making renovations to the existing
library or building an addition would not be feasible.
Several facts underscore the critical need for increased space the
Newport Cultural Center will provide. Both the library and historical
society have outgrown their current facilities. The Newport Public Library
(built in 1955) at 800 square feet, can be described as tiny.
The Historical Society Museum with 1,000 square feet of display space,
is not able to display all the pieces in its collection. Neither facility
can provide access to their collections to people of all ages and
abilities. There is no available space for programs, classes, workshops or
events.
Their respective facilities are not compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). They are not climate controlled, and thus both the
library's and the historical society's collections are at risk of being
lost.
The construction of theNewport Cultural Center will strengthen both
organizations, preserve their collections, and provide greater access to
books, reference materials, computers, the internet, historic artifacts,
genealogical records and public spaces.
The Newport Cultural Center's innovative design blends the collections
of the library with artifacts and objects of the Newport Historical
Society collection.
The Newport Cultural Center will be a comfortable, bright facility
where one will want to pause to reflect on the rich heritage of this 190
year-old community at the crossroads of Central Maine.
