3 winners of Maryann Hartman Award to be honored at University of Maine

ORONO – Three women will be honored Nov. 7 as recipients of the 17th annual Maryann Hartman Awards at the University of Maine.

Former legislator Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell, Old Town librarian Valerie King Osborne and UMaine Associate Professor Emerita of Nursing Jean Symonds will be honored in a ceremony at 5 p.m. in Wells Conference Center on campus.

They will be joined by 2002 Oxford Hills High School graduate Alicia McConkey, who will be presented with the second annual Young Women’s Social Justice Award.

The Hartman and Young Women’s Social Justice awards are sponsored by UMaine’s Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies programs, and named for the late UMaine associate professor of speech communication.

Mitchell, the first female Speaker of Maine House of Representatives, is being recognized for her political leadership in the Maine legislature and beyond. Symonds is cite for her wide-ranging leadership in women’s health and the Maine lobstering community.

Old Town native and UM graduate Osborne is honored for her innovative library work and her advocacy for girls. She is an educator, librarian, community and church leader, quilter, wife and mother.

During her tenure as head librarian of the Old Town Public Library, the library’s outreach programs have grown significantly and the original Carnegie library building was expanded through a multimillion-dollar capital campaign spearheaded by Osborne.

She is most proud of GirlsTalk, a mentoring program that pairs middle school girls with successful community women for a monthly supper with book discussions at the library. In 2000 the program and its mentors won the WLBZ News Community Service Award honoring people who make a difference in eastern, central, and northern Maine.

Osborne also serves as Webmaster for the city of Old Town, co-founder of the philanthropic project, Canoe City Quilters, and original member of the River Coalition. She served as chairwoman of the Maine Library Commission and president of the Maine Library Association.