Society Notebook: This was no act
an organization that is something of a miracle worker to
Maine kids in need of help for addictions.
Beloved actress Patty Duke recently brought her style and sense of humor to Maine, packing the house in support of Day One’s 37th annual celebration. The party, held Nov. 18 in the ballroom at the Marriott Sable Oaks in South Portland, attracted a crowd of close to 400 guests and raised $57,000 for the nonprofit, which helps adolescent overcome substance abuse.
Kevin Freeman, the event’s master of ceremonies and a board member, Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke and David Faulkner, Day One’s executive director.
Kevin Freeman, the event’s master of ceremonies and a board member, Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke and David Faulkner, Day One’s executive director.
"We had a lot of people that called from the newspaper ad" promoting Duke’s keynote address at the dinner, Board President Dianne Nason told me. "More than we’ve ever had."
Duke, best known for "The Patty Duke Show" and her Academy Award-winning role as Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," charmed the crowd at the private reception before the celebration and during the dinner itself.
Since I had the honor of sitting at the same table as Duke at dinner, I was able to watch the steady stream of fans approach her for autographs and photos. She graciously accommodated all the requests.
Eileen Skinner, CEO of Mercy Hospital, Dianne Nason, board president, and Susan York-Wilbur, who serves on the board.
"It seems like just yesterday we were watching ’The Patty Duke Show,’ " Eileen Skinner, who is CEO of Mercy Hospital, told me.
Skinner was one of five individuals honored during the event for their efforts to help teens working to overcome drug and alcohol addictions. In addition to Skinner, the other honorees were Patricia Kimball, executive director of Bangor adult drug treatment center Wellspring, Rep. Emily Cain (D-Orono), Rep. Patrick Flood (R-Winthrop) and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Director Roy McKinney.
All these awards were handed out during dinner. In addition to sharing a table with Duke and her husband, Mike Pearce, I had the pleasure of sitting with Nason, her husband, Jeff Clark, board member and master of ceremonies Kevin Freeman, Day One Executive Director David Faulkner, board member Doug Cranshaw and his wife, Anne Cranshaw, board member Marie Clements, South Portland Police Chief Ed Googins and The Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz.
My colleague Nemitz was tapped to introduce Duke to the audience.
But before he did so, Freeman introduced Nemitz.
"He’s a great storyteller," Freeman told the crowd. "In my opinion, the pre-eminent storyteller in the state of Maine."
Mike Pearce, who is married to Patty Duke, Anne Cranshaw and Doug Cranshaw, who serves on the board.
Photos by Avery Yale Kamila
Freeman then added, "We were able to draw Bill away from his Thursday night poker game at the Blaine House."
Nemitz, who during the campaign season wrote a series of columns critical of governor-elect Paul LePage, responded by saying, "Kevin, I don’t think I’ll be playing poker at the Blaine House anytime soon."
This comment drew lots of laughs from the audience.
"This is certainly something I never thought I’d be doing," Nemitz said. "If you are anywhere near my age, tonight’s speaker needs no introduction."
When Duke took to the stage, she told us a bit about her life on stage and off, with particular emphasis on her own struggles with alcohol abuse and her bipolar diagnosis at age 35.
"I was a most uncooperative patient," Duke said referring to the early days of her diagnosis. "When I did go see a psychiatrist, it was to please someone else. We fight it so and we insist we must hang on to our dignity and pride. Why? Fear. Fear that someone will know you’re different.
"I cut quite a wide swath of destruction," she continued. "The greatest toll was not on me. As you well know, it was on the people around me. In my wake there were three marriages. Unfortunately, my children could not divorce me. These kids are the survivors...who’ve found it somewhere in their hearts and souls to forgive me. It took me much longer to forgive myself."
Each day of the year, Day One shepherds Maine kids down a similar path of treatment and forgiveness.
Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at: akamila@pressherald.com
Thank you to our major event sponsors.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |