Helen Weston was the first woman to serve as a Lincoln County Commissioner. She died while serving in office. Her husband, George Weston, established a scholarship fund in her memory and started giving awards of the interest monies in 1991. The award is to be given out to a deserving student from Lincoln County who shows an interest in government and/or politics.

This year’s recipient will be awarded a $500 scholarship at awards night at Lincoln Academy by candidate for House District 90, Anna Morkeski of Damariscotta, plus Stuart Smith and Dale Wright of the Lincoln County Republicans.

Although there were many outstanding applicants, the board determined that the winner of the Helen Weston Award for 2014 to be James Seward Matel from Round Pond, who is graduating from Lincoln Academy and will be attending Washington & Lee University in Virginia this fall.

The original board members of the Helen Weston award were chosen to represent the secondary schools in Lincoln County in 1991. Sen. Chuck Begley represented Medomak Valley and the Christian School; Dale Wright represented Lincoln Academy; Barbara Campbell Harvey represented Boothbay Regional High School; and Judith Sutter represented Wiscasset High School.

After the death of Begley, his wife, the Honorable Jeanne Begley, replaced him on the board. The original board has continued to meet for 23 years; the only exception being when a relative of a board member was being considered, and then Laura Honey of Boothbay replaced that board member.

The board was unable to make awards for a number of past years due to minimal interest rates, but again this year, the Lincoln County Republican Committee Chairman Smith, helped to raise the difference between the monies available and the $500 award.

Some of the past recipients include: Tory Bunker (deceased) received the first award in 1991. Later Jeremiah Rancourt received the award twice and Kirk Wright, both from Lincoln Academy; Christopher Alley (twice); Edrick Larkin and Abby Harvey (2002) all of Boothbay; Courtney Blamey of Medomak; and Jason Lessard (1994); Kimberly Marshall (2001); and Sarah Whitfield (2005), and most recently, Emma Corwin all of Wiscasset, have all received past awards.

For further information or if you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please contact John Harris by email at gutsyjohn@yahoo.com or Smith by phone at 207-882-1188.