Newcastle Volunteer to Receive 6 Who Care Award

For his volunteer efforts in Lincoln County the last 20-plus years, Dennis Anderson, of Newcastle, will be recognized later this month as one of WCSH’s 6 Who Care.

WCSH and the United Way of Greater Portland present the 6 Who Care Award to five individuals and one agency for each recipient’s work to make their community a better place.

Anderson felt “truly honored” to receive the recognition, especially due to the time and effort put in by the people who nominated him, he said.

“It’s a very humbling thing, to think that people took the time out of what they do and their busy lives to put forth a nomination for me,” Anderson said. “These are some great folks who I’m very fortunate to work with and be connected with through various organizations and nonprofits, and it’s genuinely humbling that they nominated me.”

Prior to receiving a phone call from United Way informing him that he had been chosen as one of the recipients, Anderson said he didn’t know he had been nominated. “They were very stealthy about it, and I give them a lot of credit for that because it’s not easily done,” Anderson said. “There were a number of folks who kept their cards pretty close to the chest on this.”

Leading the charge for Anderson’s nomination was the Central Lincoln County YMCA. Anderson chairs the CLC YMCA Board of Directors.

In the nomination letter, CLC YMCA CEO Meagan Hamblett said Anderson has “modeled an exemplary life of active engagement and commitment not only to his family, but also to the greater community.”

Anderson has been instrumental in the Y’s “exciting transformation and expansion of the organization’s services,” including the creation of new community partnerships and the Y’s major capital campaign, Hamblett said.

For his volunteer leadership and support within the organization, Anderson received the CLC YMCA’s Social Responsibility Award in 2015.

“In all of the above examples, Dennis has consistently distinguished himself through his diligence and generosity of spirit, and also with his compassionate and intelligent leadership and unerring willingness to take action in achieving positive outcomes to benefit the community,” Hamblett said.

In addition to his work at the Y, Anderson is a former member of the Great Salt Bay School Committee and a local basketball official.

He co-founded the Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast, which offers restorative alternatives to incarceration for adult and juvenile offenders in Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and Waldo counties. The program focuses on offender accountability and has significantly decreased recidivism, according to its website.

Anderson currently mentors four youths in the restorative justice program.

For the past 27 years, Anderson and his family have attended St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Newcastle, where Anderson has served on the parish council and taught Sunday School.

Charles Richardson Jr., the director of operations and programs for Kieve-Wavus Education Inc., and Mariellen Whelan, of Newcastle, also submitted personal recommendations for Anderson.

“There is not space here to do justice to such an expansive and generous person,” Richardson said in his nomination letter. “Dennis Anderson is selfless and giving with an unerring instinct for identifying and matching opportunity and action.”

Anderson, along with the other recipients, will be honored at a luncheon later this month and at an awards ceremony at the Portland Museum of Art on Oct. 16. A segment about the 6 Who Care Award recipients will air on WCSH later this fall.

Although he is the recipient of the award, Anderson said the nomination was a reflection of all the work volunteers complete in the county.

“Most people feel very fortunate to live here for a number of reasons, like the natural resources and the quaint downtown, but the real resource we have here is the people,” Anderson said. “I’ve been living in this community for more than 20 years, and it still amazes me just how many people are gifted, talented, generous folks. This (award) isn’t about me, it’s about everyone who’s working to better the community.”

Anderson owns the landscaping company Salt Bay Horticulture. He and his wife, Christine, have six children.