ORONO – The Bangor Daily News was awarded the Maine Center for the Arts’ Wilma Bradford Award for the Advancement of the Arts on Saturday at the center’s annual gala.

“I’m very pleased and proud to accept this award on behalf of the four generations of my family who preceded me,” publisher Richard J. Warren said in accepting the award.

The award was created three years ago and named after its first recipient to honor community members and organizations that support and promote the arts at the MCA and in northern Maine, according to Mel Braverman, chairman of the MCA Arts Advisory Board.

Last year the award, nicknamed “The Wilma,” was given to Bangor Savings Bank and its president, P. James Dowe.

In presenting the award, University of Maine President Peter Hoff praised Warren, who has served as publisher of the NEWS since 1984 for “consistently promoting the arts” and “setting a marvelous tone for the publication.”