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Erin Tucker Rice, 35
Director of Marketing and Development
Pine Tree Society
Last summer, Pine Tree Camp â which serves roughly 650 Maine children and adults with disabilities â opened a fully accessible, airconditioned dining hall for campers to great acclaim and applause. But that new dining hall would not have been built without the efforts of Forty Under 40 Award winner Erin Rice.
Erin, 35, is the director of marketing and development for the Pine Tree Society, which operates the camp and, as such, is responsible for attracting funding. Her hard work resulted in a substantial grant from the Alfond Foundation to build the dining hall.
Yet her fundraising work is far from over. The societyâÂÂs master plan calls for capital improvements of $5.1 million. So far, sheâÂÂs helped raise half of that amount for much-needed improvements at the camp, such as the dining hall, a wellness center completed in 2008, and a staff lodge constructed in 2008-2009.
âÂÂIâÂÂm really focused on raising money for more capital improvements at the camp,â Erin says. âÂÂI really love that weâÂÂre focused on meeting unmet needs through innovative programs.âÂÂ
She says that one of the prime motivators for her is interacting and connecting with people committed to the Pine Tree Society and its programs. âÂÂItâÂÂs all about the people we serve. Seeing their transformation is really amazing to me.âÂÂ
Creative, caring, compassionate, driven and ambitious describe Erin best, says Donna Murphy, who nominated Erin for the Forty Under 40 Award. âÂÂShe has greatly enhanced Pine Tree SocietyâÂÂs reputation as a leader in services for those with disabilities and has grown her department to oversee not just marketing and communications, but also development.âÂÂ
In addition, Erin â a Maine native â is co-founder of the Southern Maine Autism Conference for families who have a child with autism and the providers who work with them. âÂÂI love the fact that we get such amazing feedback from the conference. ItâÂÂs exceeded my expectations.âÂÂ
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