Former resident honored at guard retirement
Lt. Col. Robert F. Ward, formerly of Westbrook, retired from the Rhode Island Army National Guard on March 15th after more than 42 years of service. A ceremony was held April 15.
During the ceremony, he was presented with the Legion of Merit and the Rhode Island Star for his outstanding years of service. In a separate ceremony, he was recognized by the U.S. Army Engineer Regiment with the prestigious de Fleury Medal, in bronze, for his significant contributions to the engineer regiment.
Those attending the ceremony included his wife, Mary (Pillsbury), their son Derek and Deana and their children Jillian and Ryan; their daughter Andrea with Paul and their children Dylan and Payton Elizabeth (all of Rhode Island); Ward’s mother, Mrs. Douglas A. Ward (also known as Grammy Anne) of Westbrook; brother William and Deborah Ward and their daughter Katherine Ward, Winslow; sister-in-law Sandra and Ralph Farris, Cape Elizabeth; brothers-in-law Chuck and Pam Pillsbury, Cape Elizabeth, and Mark and Gale Pillsbury, Windham, and their children Keith and Kayla Pillsbury, Gorham; Caryn Pillsbury and son Cobe, Windham; Kevin and Angela Pillsbury, Gorham; and friends Donald and Rene Ziobrowski, Warwick, R.I.
Ward, his wife, children and grandchildren live in Rhode Island.
Ward enlisted in the Maine Army National Guard in 1970 with Company C, 133rd Engineer Company (Construction), Lewiston. He attended State of Maine Officer Candidate School at Camp Keyes in Augusta and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant, engineer branch on July 22, 1972.
He was assigned to Company B, Saco, and served as a platoon leader before attending the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1973.
In November 1974 he transferred to the Rhode Island Army National Guard. and was assigned as a platoon leader, company commander, then as the personnel officer, logistics officer and the Headquarters Detachment Commander of the 243rd Engineer Battalion.
Ward was then assigned as the deputy state director, Selective Service System, secretary to the general staff, state headquarters and as the commander, Detachment 5 STARC, Engineer Support Division until July 2000.
He continued on with his military career as a chief warrant officer, Adjutant General Corps assigned as the state marksmanship coordinator, spending time at Fort Drum, N.Y., training soldiers on different weapons before their deployments to Iraq in 2003.
In 2004, he became the officer personnel manager, Joint Force Headquarters, Rhode Island Army National Guard, full time,
His many awards include Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal w/OLC, Army Achievement Medal, Selective Service System Meritorious Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal w/2 silver OLC and 1 bronze OLC, Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/gold hourglass and bronze hourglass, Gubernatorial Unit Citation (Rhode Island), Rhode Island Star, Rhode Island National Guard Commendation Medal, Rhode Island National Guard Emergency Service Medal w/3OLC and Pendant, and the State of Maine Basic Training Ribbon,
Dyhrberg ?to entertain
Tom Dyhrberg will play guitar when Westbrook Senior Citizens meet at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, May 7, at Westbrook Community Cener, 436 Bridge St.
The seniors are planning a Flag Day trip on Thursday, June 14, to Harrisville, R.I., for a dinner show featuring the Derosie Orchestra with patriotic music.
The group is planning several trips. It will travel to Boston to see the tall ships in early July; a lobster luncheon and a trolley tour in August; foliage trip Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 8 and 9, in Killington, Vt; and a nine-day, motor coach trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., leaving on Saturday, Nov. 3.
For more information about trips, call 883-5046 or 854-2705.
Triad to meet
The Gorham/Westbrook TRIAD will meet 8:45-9:45 a.m. on Friday, May 11, at Mill Brook Estates, 300 East Bridge St., Westbrook.
Triad is a collaboration of senior citizens, community services and law enforcement officers that promote safety and well being for seniors.
Levesque award winner
Nicole Levesque of Westbrook, executive administrator and sales analyst at EmeryWaterhouse Company, recently received the John Cummings Award for excellence at its annual Marketplace customer event.
The award is presented to the Emery-Waterhouse employee in a sales or sales support position who best exemplifies the attributes John Cummings brought to the company in his 27-year career – teamwork, customer focus, work ethic and commitment to Emery-Waterhouse.
Levesque has been with the company for four years and works closely with each region’s sales directors and the Emery sales team. Emery chose Levesque as the recipient of this award because she demonstrates all four of the criteria for the John Cummings Award on a daily basis.
“She always makes herself available to employees and customers and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” the company said in a statement.
Coyote advocate ?at library
Conservation biologist Geri Vistein, a strong advocate for coyotes, will present a program at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, at Walker Memorial Library, 800 Main St.
Admission is free and the public is invited.
Vistein will be presenting an interactive and visual presentation, “Coyote ~ America’s Song Dog.”
“Coyotes are very capable of coexisting with us,” Vistein said in a prepared release. “But we need to keep coyotes wild, by never providing them food, water or shelter.”
Coyotes have lived in North America for a half-million years, and exist nowhere else, she said.
A healthy, stable coyote population can actually be beneficial by keeping down the population of rodents – their dominant food source, Vistein said.
Vistein earned her undergraduate degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana and her masters in natural resources and education from the University of Vermont.
The library can be reached at 854-0630.
Poetry readings ?at Acorn
Acorn Productions continues its monthly “Lowry’s Lodge” poetry reading series with Claire Hersom and David Moreau, both of the central Maine area, on Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m., at the Acorn Studio Theater in the Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook.
Anne Wrobel and Jim Donnelly, the series curators, decided to feature these poets as the result of their “cross-pollination” with some poets of the Augusta region.
“Lowry’s Lodge” seeks to present Maine poets in regional flavors as well as in universal tones. Hersom and Moreau are the first of a few central Maine poets booked in the coming months. Both poets are highly respected by their peers and can be described as truly “authentic” voices. Ted and Ruth Bookey’s series at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell has been a source of these meetings and revelations.
The event is free with a suggested donation of $5.
For more information, call 854-0065 or visit www.acorn-productions.org.
In a retirement ceremony, Lt. Col. Robert F. Ward receives the de Fluery Medal from the Army Engineer Regiment. The award is presented by his wife, Mary (Pillsbury) Ward, and Capt. John Saporita, commander, 861st Engineer Company, at a ceremony on April 15. (Courtesy photo by Army Sgt. Peter Ramaglia)Copy the Story Link
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