Heroes Don’t Always Wear Capes – Saturday April 4th

From the email " I'm sure I'm not the first person to nominate Tony McKim as the hero of the day. He is an amazing man that has sacrificed his family time to keep our First National Bank family safe. He is respected by every single employee at First National Bank. Because of his optimistic support, he is helping all of his employees stay positive and strive to help in our community in any way possible.

Please consider him as our First National Bank HERO

From the very beginning Elizabeth and James Lindquist have been on the front lines making sure everyone who is hungry have been fed. They have been offering freshly made wholesome lunch meals to anyone who has been hungry from their Southwest Harbor restaurant Monday - Saturday, and plan on continuing to do so even though AOS 91 schools will be distributing breakfast and lunch meals beginning April 6th.

From a proud mother-in-law "My daughter-in-law, Katy Lawson faces the virus checks everyday at Cooper Gilmore and her sister-in-law Cindy Lawson, a nurse at MDI Hospital.  They both have young families and I am proud of both of them. "

From the email "They have been working hard every day to adapt to each days challenge, keeping their staff employed, increasing their already high standards of food safety, making sure that their systems are as clean and as efficient as possible for takeout and curbside pick up. They're offering free commercial-grade hard service sanitizer to anyone who needs it. They're buying lobster and scallops from local fisherman ABOVE market value to keep them working. Side Street Cafe is better with everyone in it, but they're making the absolute best of it without that! It's nice to have familiar comfort food right now. "

From the email "I have been depending on the wonderful volunteers from the Southwest Food Mart to deliver my food since my recent hospitalization for a condition similar to that of Bell's palsy. The staff are amazing and I've had two staff members who live close by to me in West Tremont dropping off groceries to my home on their way home to their families. They are my heroes for sure."

From the email "This is Eric Mailman, he is a paramedic for Northern Light, and for Life Flight. He works tirelessly, especially during these uncertain times.He has 2 young boys, and a wife waiting for him when he gets a chance to relax for a few hours. He is dedicated and passionate about his work, placing the needs of his patients first"

From the email "MY MOM!!! Ellen DaCorte:) She's beginning to make masks just in case things begin to get really bad here on the island. The masks are made of fabric, but she has put a pocket in for a filter which would trap all the nasties if these were to be used. "

From the email "Our Fire department is doing an unbelievable job of coordinating and preparing for something we hope won't happen. But Chief Bartlett and Assistant Chief Lennon should be recognized for proactively working to keep us safe. Constantly updating and working with everyone at a Federal, State, and Island wide level to insure our protection."

Barbara is the Infectious Disease Manager at Mount Desert Island Hospital. From the email "for making sure our hospital staff is safe with gear and proper procedures."

Cornell is the Bar Harbor Town Manager. From the email "He is making sure our town continues to function at ALL levels, while working closely with Maine Municipal Association, the Governor’s office, and the business community. He is working as the Director of Disaster Services and our Emergency Operations team to keep the community as safe as possible. He is doing a truly amazing amount of work!"

From the email " I would like to nominate" Gloria Delsandro, Principal of Mount Desert Elementary School for her speediness and jumping into action when school was closed. She is well versed in supporting the emotional and domestic needs of all students and their families. She is extremely creative, POSITIVE, OPTIMISTIC, calm, resourceful, a solid team player and always empathetic. She has established a school environment that embraces methods of trust, flexibility, communication, management and continual updates and shifts based on new research and data. During this pandemic, these traits in a leader are absolutely essential to ease worry and guide teachers, parents, and students towards remote learning. Safely gathering and organizing school materials and MEALS to be sent home in busses and vans of a select group of teachers and school board members was the first order of business and these were delivered efficiently.

Social media activities/daily challenges on the MDES Facebook page are keeping children and families connected and comforted by sharing pictures of pets, home projects, etc. Email updates with links to resources, family forms, and general reassurance come a least a few times a week! Her incredible staff does the same!

While she's working all hours and is passionate about her role as a rockstar principal, her humor and extreme love for her husband, daughter and their pets shine bright and she shares this with us all. We are forever grateful for her, and her amazing team at MDES!

Julie Meltzer  is the Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for AOS 91. From the email "She has done a tremendous amount of work to get remote learning up and running in our district!"