Timothy Nichols, who has served as a Pittsfield Town Councilor for nearly 20 years, was named Citizen of the Year by the Sebasticook Valley Elks Lodge on April 2 at the fraternal organization’s installation of officers and awards ceremony.
Outgoing Exalted Ruler or lodge president Michael Lange also honored Michael Havey as Officer of the Year, Dale Duplisea as Elk of the Year and presented Lodge members William Graham and Ernest Bryant with Outstanding Service Commendations.
Prior to the awards ceremony, Spencer Havey, the “founding father” of the Sebasticook Valley Elks, was presented with a commendation from the Maine Legislature by State Rep. Stanley Short. Havey was honored by the Spirit of America Foundation a few weeks ago in recognition of his longtime service to the community. In addition to being the first Exalted Ruler of the Sebasticook Valley Elks Lodge when it was chartered in 1986, Havey is also a retired Pittsfield police chief and Somerset County sheriff.
In recognizing Nichols, Lange said that the 2015-16 Elks Citizen of the Year has “guided the town through good times and bad – from new businesses opening to the loss of one our largest employers, UTC Fire Security, a few years ago.”
Nichols was also one of the “first proponents of recycling in the community, a program that has proven to be environmentally and economically successful,” Lange added. “He is a regular volunteer at the Pittsfield Community Food Bank and a mental health counselor. If there is any charitable activity taking place in Pittsfield, chances are you’ll find him there.”
Nichols is the juvenile program specialist at the Charleston Correctional Facility’s Mountain View Youth Center.
Sarah DeLong of Pittsfield, a special education teacher at School Administrative District 53, succeeded Lange as Sebasticook Valley Elks Exalted Ruler.
The new officers were installed by their counterparts from the Houlton Elks Lodge, and DeLong was given the oath of office by her father, Roger Graham, a Past Exalted Ruler of the Houlton Lodge.
Other officers installed at the April 2 ceremony were Joan Bowley, Leading Knight (1st vice-president), William Graham, Loyal Knight (2nd vice-president), Ernest Bryant, Lecturing Knight (3rd vice-president), Terry White, Secretary; Bonny McGinnis, Treasurer; William Piatt and Jeff Vanadestine, Trustees; Michael Havey, Esquire; Jasper Farrington, Tiler; Rita Farrington, Chaplain; and Carol Richardson, Inner Guard.
The Sebasticook Valley Elks is one of the area’s largest fraternal organizations with 273 members.?