Grondin honors retiring couple

Tom and Bess Hey recently retired after more than 40 years at R.J. Grondin & Sons. The company hosted an office lunch party for the couple.

Phil Grondin Jr. said the entire office pitched in and presented the couple, his aunt and uncle, with rocking chair gifts.

“There are plaques on the back that say ‘Here’s to forty more years of rockin’ – Love, the office crew,’ and those plaques were attached by Bob Grondin, one of the founders of the company,” Phil Grondin Jr. said.

Grondin said, “Tom started working for us in 1971, when Memere Grondin (Bess’s mom, Tom’s mother-in-law) had to take care of her husband when he got sick (he passed away the following year). Tom became responsible for handling the books of a growing construction company. Bess came to work for the company very soon after, handling billings, planning company events and riding herd over her older brothers.”

Robert Grondin Sr. and his two sons, Bob and Phil, transformed the family dairy farm into the construction company.

The Heys helped the company grow from about 12 people in the early 1970s to one of the largest and most respected earthmoving contractors in the state, Phil Grondin Jr. said.

Church hosting ‘Potluck with a Purpose’

South Gorham Baptist Church, 53 County Road, is sponsoring “Potluck With a Purpose” at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 18.

The program centers on a traditional potluck supper at which a food item is taken to share. Following the meal, there will be a presentation on the problem of human trafficking and modern-day slavery around the world and here at home.

Chelsea Rock Phelps of the Greater Portland Coalition Against Sex Trafficking and Exploitation, along with an officer from the Portland Police Department, will speak about what is happening in greater Portland and what is being done to stop the traffickers and to help victims.

There will be a time for questions and discussion.

All donations will be used to support organizations working to abolish modern-day slavery and human trafficking. The public is invited.

Heading for GHS hall of fame

The Gorham High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct new members in a ceremony in the high school auditorium at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 22, following a reception in the cafeteria at 6 p.m.

This year’s inductees are Mike Barden, Paul Banks, Kendrick Ballantyne, Lloyd Egers, Cindy Philbrick, Patrick Cianciolo; Gerry Durgin, past athletic director; and Sonja Frey, past tennis coach.

Gorham student is Saint Joseph’s valedictorian

Elizabeth Wise of Gorham, a management major, is valedictorian of the class of 2012 at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.

Commencement exercises will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, on the lawn outside Alfond Hall on the campus.

A graduate of Gorham High School, Wise is graduating summa cum laude and was a dean’s list student every semester at Saint Joseph’s.

Charmaine Daniels, a spokeswoman for Saint Joseph’s said, “Throughout Elizabeth’s academic career at the college, she had the opportunity to participate in several internships which reinforced her decision to pursue a managerial position in either human resources or marketing.”

Wise’s first internship during her sophomore year was in the Learning and Organizational Development Department at Hannaford supermarkets, Daniels said.

During her junior year, she continued her internship opportunities with Hannaford and worked in the Supply Chain Department as a computer assisted ordering intern.

“Elizabeth’s goal upon graduation,” said Daniels, “is to acquire a position with an organization where she can make an immediate contribution to the company by putting her education and relevant experiences to work.

Cutter earns chemistry award

Megan Cutter of Gorham earned the First-Year Chemistry Award at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish for outstanding achievement in chemistry.

Cutter also received the received the Exercise Science Award, awarded to the outstanding graduating senior majoring in exercise science. She is a member of the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society and will graduate with distinction this month.

Reynolds

on dean’s list

Cynthia Reynolds of Gorham has been named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Simmons College in Boston.

U.S. taxpayer debt

The Bureau of Public Debt reported on May 5 that the U.S. public debt was $15,671,916,356,611.36.