MEA honors members and community leaders who support public education. The following are the 2021 MEA award winners. John Marvin Local Association Award Auburn EA
John Marvin Local Association Award Mt. Blue EA
AEA put safety, students, and staff first as it fought back a district reopening plan that would have ignored safety protocols. Auburn EA organized their local, got support from the public and protested the district’s plan to open full-time, at the height of the pandemic.
Mt Blue worked under an expired contract and took a vote of no confidence in the superintendent who left the district. The issues in the district were good organizing and membership opportunities for the local as they worked together to both increase membership and power.
Friend of Education Award Senator Matthea Daughtry
Public Higher Ed Impact Award Rep. Rebecca Millett
As Senate Chair of the Education Committee, Senator Daughtry is a dedicated supporter of our public schools and the people who work in them. When she speaks, it is clear she understands the issues our students and educators face, and she is committed to working hard to create teaching and learning environments that are in the best interest of our students and staff.
Representative Rebecca Millett is a tireless advocate for higher education, faculty, and staff, current and retired. When higher education retirees were fighting to keep their health insurance Rebecca Millett was in the middle fighting to support retirees.
Golden Apple Award Center Theatre for the Performing Arts The Center Theatre for the Performing Arts creates cultural and fun opportunities for kids in the Dover-Foxcroft area. The theatre offers movies, drama camps and drama programs for older kids over the summer and school breaks and provides scholarships so most kids can attend for free.
John Marvin Local Association Award AFUM, UMPSA, ACSUM The efforts of our members in AFUM, UMPSA, and ACSUM, our higher education local associations in the University of Maine System, were incredibly united and showed the power of a union when they fought back health care changes pushed on to them from the UMaine System. These changes would have been detrimental to retirees and the union advocated, and won, to stop these health care rollbacks.
Golden Apple Award Equality Maine
MEA Special Recognition Ashley Bryan
Equality Maine continues to prove it is a leader in making school safer by working with administrators, teachers, parents, and students. The organization works hard to improve the climate for LBGTQ+ youth and allies by providing leadership skills, community building and selfempowerment.
MEA’s Special Recognition Award is in honor of Ashley Bryan for his lifetime commitment to education and social justice. Mr. Bryan has impacted innumerable Maine students and educators and is also credited for being the first African American to publish a children’s book as an author and illustrator.
The Clyde Russell Scholarship Fund was created by the MEA through a trust established by the late Audrey Lewis. It awards graduating Seniors monies to help cover tuition, room, board, books, and fees.
Sabrina Sperrey Presque Isle High School College: Eastern Maine Community College Program: Medical Radiography
Nathaniel Robinson Jonesport-Beals High School College: Eastern Maine Community College Program: Diesel Mechanics
Emily Lyman Skowhegan High School College: Kennebec Valley Community College Program: Nursing
Jane Dawson Freeport High School College: Dartmouth Program: Inclusive Global Politics and Math
Simona Ickia Ngaullo South Portland High School College: University of Maine Program: Pediatrics
Deanna Oakes Stearns High School College: University of Maine Program: Nursing
Camden Rollins Yarmouth High School College: University of Southern California Program: Global Studies June 2021 • www.maineea.org
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