Dr. Stan Young named ‘Volunteer of the Year’.

    Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity has chosen its first Volunteer of the Year. He is Dr. Stanley Young, a retired physician who received the award at the annual meeting Jan. 26 at the Chamber of Commerce office.

    Dr. Young, who lives in Poland, has worked on most of the 14 houses built by Androscoggin Habitat since 1987. During months when no houses are being built, he volunteers at the Habitat ReStore, on Strawberry Avenue.

    Dr. Young also is a composer and singer and an avid photographer. He has donated many prints to Habitat, including several that were sold at a recent Habitat art auction. Among his recent accomplishments as an expert craftsman, Dr. Young created special colonial trim in the most recent Habitat house, on Golder Avenue.

    President Allen Sterling presented the award and said: “This volunteer has lived his entire life not only helping Habitat, but improving the quality of life in greater Androscoggin County as a caring doctor who helped sick people in their hour of need.”

    The president noted that Dr. Young recently purchased and donated several expensive tools to Habitat and added, “I’ll bet that he can’t wait to begin using them this spring.”

    The new award was established to recognize outstanding service among the many volunteers who make it possible for Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity to raise funds and build homes for low-income residents of Androscoggin County.

    Two retiring board members also were honored at the annual meeting.
Hugh W. Keene, of Auburn, served on the board 13 years and for many years headed the Family Selection Committee. Sunni Jenkins, of Livermore Falls, served five years as a board member and two years as president.

    Since Keene joined the board in 1995 he has volunteered at all Habitat events and for much of his tenure was chairman of the Family Selection Committee. Now retired, he taught physics at Edward Little High School and was chairman of the Science Department there. He taught in the Army and at Walton Junior High School and at several area universities. Always active in community affairs, he assumed many roles at St. Patrick’s Church, and became a board member and later served as president of the Auburn Employees Federal Credit Union. He also was trustee of the Auburn Water District.

    President Sterling presented Keene with a plaque and noted, “He has been instrumental in teaching Habitat homeowners how to budget their money and was always willing to lend a non-judgmental ear whenever a homeowner was in trouble. His community service serves as an example of the difference that one person can make. Quiet, respectful, intelligent, compassionate and possessing common sense are words that I would use to describe him.”

    Sunni Junkins, the immediate past president of Androscoggin Habitat, became a board member in May 2003. She joined the Family Selection Committee the same year, and still serves in that position. She was elected vice president in 2005 and was president in 2006 and 2007. She also works at the Androscoggin Habitat food booth at the annual Balloon Festival and the annual golf tournament. She is employed at the L.L. Bean call center in Lewiston, where she also volunteers as the United Way coordinator. Her husband Jerry, also a board member, manages the Habitat ReStore.

    Sterling said in presenting a plaque: “She was a tough act to follow and set the bar high for any future president of Androscoggin Habitat.” He thanked her for her “compassion and dedication to Androscoggin Habitat.”

    The annual meeting included an announcement that Androscoggin Habitat intends to build another house in the spring. In addition, the building committee will be reviewing plans and specifications for both single-family homes and a community-based neighborhood master plan of homes. “Our goal is to make our homes more energy-efficient by looking at the building envelope, alternative foundation plans and heat sources” said Sterling, who heads the building committee.

    The family selection committee is in the final stages of a process for choosing the next family for a Habitat house. The committee also is selecting a second family for consideration if a second house is built within a year from the completion of the first. The committee reviewed more than 20 applications from families and the four finalists were interviewed by all members of the committee.

    The annual meeting reelected officers for one-year terms. Sterling is president; Dot Kerne is vice-president; Kim Polley is treasurer and Paul Leonard is secretary.