Talk of the Towns 1/13/21: Celebrating 30 years of the Waldo County Fund & Maine Community Foundation

Producer/Host: Ron Beard What were the origins of Maine Community Foundation, its mission and areas of focus What led to creation of County Funds as a strategy to engage local people both as donors and, with county fund support, as community builders. How does the county committee concept work in your case… your role with encouraging donors and with identifying non-profit organizations whose work you choose to support. What is the mission of Waterfall Arts, its current range programs… with stories of program participants and instructors What are the origins, mission and current programs of Restorative Justice Project, with stories when the RJ approach has made a real difference in the lives of those involved How do donors and potential grantees make connections with the Waldo County Fund and Maine Community Foundation Guests: Mary Leaming – chair of the Waldo County Committee, Unity Betty Schopmeyer – Waldo County Committee advisor, Searsport, artist Kim Fleming – Executive Director, Waterfall Arts Sarah Mattox – program staff, Restorative Justice Project Leslie Goode – Senior Program Officer, MCF, staffs the Waldo County Committee About the host: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.