For Immediate Release

For more information, contact:
Shoshana Hoose, Communications Coordinator
207-623-4511
shoshana@BikeMaine.org

Bicycle Coalition of Maine Honors Volunteers and Businesses of the Year

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine recently presented volunteer awards to 12 individuals and businesses:

• Innovative Supporter of the Year: Peter Rubinstein of New York City. Rubenstein provided matching funds to those who joined the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's Yellow Jersey Club during 2007. He matched five members at $1,000 each.
• Trail Volunteer of the Year: Tony Barrett of Harpswell. A longtime volunteer for the Bicycle Coalition of Maine (BCM), Barrett helps lead the BCM delegation to the annual National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. He serves as secretary and board member of the East Coast Greenway Alliance and he has worked on dozens of trail projects in Maine.
• Bicycle Safety Educator of the Year: Charley LaFlamme of Ogunquit. LaFlamme founded the BCM along with a handful of other cyclists in 1992. He teaches bicycle safety education to Maine schoolchildren through BCM's partnership with MaineDOT. LaFlamme is a League Cycling Instructor, the League of American Bicyclists' regional trainer for the Northeast and an expert bicycle witness for court cases.
• Bike Commuter Award: John Brooking of Westbrook. A bike commuter for several years, Brooking founded the Portland Bicycle Commuting Meetup (http://www.PortlandBikeCommuting.org) to build community and to promote the use of bicycles as transportation. Brooking gives workshops about bike commuting to encourage others and he volunteers at many bike-related events.
• BCM Volunteers of the Year: Anna Corson, Eric Favreau and Stan MacArthur. Corson and Favreau, students at the University of Southern Maine, helped organize the BCM's 2008 Great Maine Bike Swap on the Portland campus. As a freshman at the University of Maine and president of the UMaine Cycling Club, MacArthur helped organize the first-ever swap on the Orono campus in May.
• Bike Shop of the Year: Lee Huston of Center Street Cycles in Brunswick. Huston runs one of the oldest bicycle shops in Maine. Started 60 years ago, Center Street Cycles has built a loyal clientele through its strong involvement with the community. Like many small bike shops in Maine, Center Street Cycles performs all the small services that aren't available at the big box stores such as repairing flats, checking brakes, and keeping everyone's bikes in town running smoothly.
• Business Supporter of the Year: Tim Brewer, owner of Peak Performance Multisport in Portland, a business that sells, supports and services products for cycling, running, swimming, Nordic ski and triathlons. Under Brewer's leadership, Peak Performance signed on as lead sponsor of the 2008 Maine Time Trial Series.
• Top BCM Supporter of the Year Award: VBT Bicycling Vacations of Bristol, Vermont. Owner Gregg Marston joined the Yellow Jersey Club and the company donated a van to BCM during the past year. VBT Bicycling Vacations is the 2008 top sponsor of the Maine Bike Rally in Fryeburg and the Maine Lobster Ride & Roll in Rockland and a Diamond Sponsor of the 2008 Women's Ride for Heart Health in Freeport. An Italian biking vacation donated by the company is being raffled to raise money for BCM.
• BCM Service Award: Joan Walton of Auburn. After many years as a BCM volunteer, Walton joined the board in 2006. As a professional land use/transportation planner at the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Walton assists communities and the MaineDOT in developing local and regional transportation plans to improve the multimodal transportation infrastructure in western Maine.
• Harry Faust Leadership Award: Moe Bisson of Brunswick. A Certified Public Accountant, Bisson has served as BCM's treasurer since 2006. He has helped the organization implement professional financial practices. He also has volunteered many hours helping with events such as the Great Maine Bike Swap.

The awards were presented at the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's annual meeting on July 12. The meeting took place during the Maine Bike Rally and League of American Bicyclists' National Rally in Fryeburg.

Formed in 1992, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine is working to make Maine accessible and safe for all residents and visitors so they may comfortably and responsibly bicycle. The BCM also promotes bicycling for transportation, health, recreation and fun to enhance our communities, environment and economy.

# # #