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Sheila McCarthy Selected as REM Honoree

Sheila McCarthy

The Kotlas Connection honored Sheila McCarthy, a professor of Russian at Colby College, at the annual REM Community Volunteer Awards Ceremony on October 12. Thirteen other area nonprofit organizations each honored one chosen volunteer a piece as well.

Sheila McCarthy is associate professor of Russian in the Department of German and Russian at Colby College. She and her family have lived in Waterville since 1987. She is married to Cliff Reid, Dana Professor of Economics at Colby. Their son Mattt, participated in the Rivers Project in 1999 and is now a junior at the University of Chicago, majoring in chemistry.

The Connection selected McCarthy because of her support of Russian Sampler, one of our major projects. She developed the idea, recruited the support of the Connection, and has co-chaired the project over the years. Always thoughtful, McCarthy also includes members of the Connection in Russian activities at Colby. Additionally, she translates letters, arranges to have videotapes from Kotlas reformatted for viewing with American VCR's, provides Russian language instruction for visitors to Kotlas (including the Rivers Project students), and gives advice on Russian issues whenever needed.

The two-hour ceremony, held on October 12 at the Waterville Opera House, was a project of the REM Partners, a coalition of twenty local nonprofit organizations. The partnership was formed last year by REM to promote volunteerism and share resources. REM itself is a broad-based community organization dedicated to developing a vibrant economy, improving education, promoting art and culture, beautifying the environment, and expanding recreational opportunities in Central Maine. Besides the Kotlas Connection, thirteen of the other partners, including Colby College, Inland Hospital, the American Red Cross of Mid-Maine, Rape Crisis Assistance & Prevention, and the Waterville Area Humane Society, honor volunteers at this year's ceremony.

This article orginally appeared in the Fall 2002 newsletter.

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