BATH — Martha Mayo said she cried on Oct. 10 when she received the city’s Lifetime Spirit Award.

The honor was part of Bath’s 11th annual Citizen Involvement Day, held last weekend during Autumnfest. Evelyn “Evie” Smith was named Citizen of the Year, Help-a-Kid received the Community Project Award, Bob Jordan the Community Spirit Award and Kean McDermott the Bath Youth Award.

Mayo’s list of community accomplishments since moving to Bath in 1964 is enormous. She taught English at Morse High School, where she was involved in MOHIBA and other musical events. She has also taught music at The Children’s Schoolhouse and read children’s books aloud for the “Storytime with Gaga” show on Bath Community TV.

Mayo has chaired Sagadahoc Preservation’s education committee. Her interest in Bath architecture is reflected in a SP course that she taught in fourth-grade classrooms, as well as her work in producing the “Bath Area Architecture Activity & Coloring Book” used for the fourth grade.

The wife of former state Sen. Art Mayo, she served for six years on the board of Main Street Bath and led the organization’s design committee. Her free “Sing! It’s Christmas” show at the Chocolate Church is a time-honored event, along with the Hot Chocolate Jubilee fundraiser that she has produced three times.

“I love Bath, and I can say that unabashedly because I’m from away,” said Mayo, who came from Augusta.

Smith, referred to as “Bath’s quiet angel,” volunteers at the Bath Soup Kitchen, where she cleans, prepares and serves, talking with clients and inspiring other people to work harder. When the kitchen isn’t serving meals, Smith helps to can and freeze vegetables and fruits used to feed more than 100 clients at each meal.

Along with helping out with physical therapy at nursing homes and aiding her neighbors in need, she knits mittens for Bath children each year.

Help-a-Kid was started by Regional School Unit 1 Superintendent William Shuttleworth during the 2006-2007 school year to engage area youth in constructive after-school activities, and to address the needs of the rising number of latch-key children. The program has allowed many students to attend a variety of community activities, since it eliminates enrollment costs and transportation issues for the participants.

Between 250 and 275 students participate in the program, developing friendships with peers and staying active. Offerings in the program include YMCA swim programs, karate lessons, basketball camps, little league sponsorships, therapeutic horse riding lessons, chess and newspaper clubs, the Skatepark, gymnastics, fishing and outing clubs, kayak club, specialized music lessons, pottery lessons and bowling.

Since joining the Bath Youth Meetinghouse and Skatepark board in 2004, Jordan has been a key proponent of the park’s mission and its availability to teens as a safe and nurturing place to gather. He has donated many hours to fundraising events to the non-profit facility.

Jordan has taught at Morse High School for eight years. He received the Dr. Pat Adams Distinguished Teacher Award in 2008 and is considered by Morse Principal Peter Kahl one of the best and most popular and best teachers at the school.

One of Jordan’s students, McDermott, has been described as a gifted student and committed leader. A member of the Morse Class of 2010, he serves as the senior class vice president and is an accomplished triathlon competitor.

McDermott has also served on the Bath Planning and Regional School Unit 1 boards as a student member and was profiled in the March edition of nextSTEP magazine, which recognized him as a “super teen” in New England. He has also participated in Chocolate Church Arts Center productions and the 2007 Hot Chocolate Jubilee.

The winners of the Plant Home pie baking contest, also held during Autumnfest, were Nita Greenleaf for her pumpkin pie, and David Lindall – chef at the Admiral Steakhouse – for his apple pie.

Alex Lear can be reached at 373-9060 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net.

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Bath Superintendent of Schools William Shuttleworth, right, gets a lesson in spinning basketballs from Jason “White Shadow” Gibbons, a former Bath student who is now a member of the Harlem Superstars basketball team, at Autumnfest on Oct. 10. Help-a-Kid, a program originated by Shuttleworth, received one of several Community Involvement Day awards on Saturday.

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