For Immediate Release
November 17, 2004
Contact: Jason Agren, Pine Tree Council
@ (207) 797-5252

Professional football player Troy Brown came to Maine Tuesday night to help the Pine Tree Council of the Boy Scouts of America raise money for its capital campaign.

The event was sponsored by Banknorth Group, the parent company of Peoples Heritage Bank, and was held at the Marriott Sable Oaks in South Portland.

The evening drew some 175 participants and also featured silent and live auctions of sports memorabilia, a Super Bowl package and Patriots tickets, among other items. Organizers said they expected to raise $50,000 toward the campaign.

Before the dinner and auction, Brown, a fan favorite throughout New England, met with attendees in a reception and also with Pine Tree Council Boy Scouts who had sold more than $2,000 worth of popcorn before the event.

At the dinner, speakers included President of the Pine Tree Council Bill Thornton, Banknorth President, CEO and Chairman Bill Ryan and Brown.

“It was a great event, and Troy Brown is a super individual, both on and off the football field,” said Bill Ryan, president, CEO and chairman of Banknorth Group. “We were grateful he came up to Maine to help out the Boy Scouts.”

Other items auctioned for the cause included autographed jerseys of Ray Bourque, Troy Brown and Sergei Samsonov; an autographed Hanson brothers photo and copy of the movie “Slapshot;” a Tom Brady helmet; an autographed canvas print of hockey legends Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky; and an autographed Troy Brown photo and football, to name a few.

All proceeds from the ticket sales and the auction will benefit the Boy Scouts capital campaign, which includes the 21,000-square-foot Scout Center currently under construction. The Pine Tree Council hopes to raise a total of $4 million as part of the campaign, and has been supported by major businesses in the area, including Banknorth Group, Cianbro and SMRT.

The new scouting facility, which will be called the Alton E. “Chuck” Cianchette Scout Service Center, is about 75 percent completed and is located near the jetport off Johnson Road. When completed in the spring of 2005 the facility will include a library, tribute room, visitor's center, training room, Scout shop, audio visual center, and resource areas for each of the 10 districts of the Pine Tree Council. It will also include a lookout so that Scouts can watch planes take off and land.

The council’s capital campaign, launched in March, also will raise funds for a Cub Adventure Camp that will feature family camping facilities, theme areas such as a Native American Village (archery area), a Pirate Ship (boating pier), a Lighthouse (swimming area), and a Western Fort (shooting sports area), cabin camping and tent camping at Camp Bomazeen. The funds also will help renovate the Rotary Training Center, expand the Dining Hall, improve and add on to camping sites, develop an Ecology Conservation Center and renovate field sports areas.

Peoples Heritage Bank, a subsidiary of Banknorth Group, Inc., through the Banknorth Charitable Foundation, set the pace of the campaign with a lead gift of $250,000 last fall. Banknorth’s Bill Ryan is serving as the chairman of the $4 million campaign, and former Maine Governor John R. “Jock” McKernan, Jr. is serving as the honorary chairman.

The new Scout Service Center will be named after the late Alton E. “Chuck” Cianchette, a long-time scouting supporter and former president of the board.

In addition to Banknorth, Cianbro Corporation and the architecture firm of SMRT of Portland are involved in the capital campaign. As general contractor for the new Scout Service Center, Cianbro is donating all project management services to the project.

The Pine Tree Council serves more than 18,000 youths through its Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturing, Learning for Life and Exploring programs in Central and Southern Maine. The Pine Tree Council serves 10 counties of Maine, including Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc, Somerset and York. The Council is also made up of five geographic regions called districts, which are named Abnaki, Casco Bay, Downeast, Kennebec Valley and York.

For more information about the campaign or the Boy Scouts of America, please call (207) 797-5252 to reach Jason Agren at extension 21.

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