How pleased everyone who knew the late Fred Hannon must be to know his daughter and former Bangor resident, Meaghan Hannan, is running the Boston Marathon in his honor.

For Meaghan Hannan, a Bangor High School scholar-athlete, Princeton grad, and third-year Duke University law student who also is earning a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this is a very special, personal commitment.

Hannan is a member of the CITGO-sponsored Boston Team of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Miracle Marathon Team.

Fred Hannan was just 43 years old when he died in 1993 of Lou Gehrig’s disease at his Bangor home.

The family had moved to Bangor in 1981, when her father accepted a position as an administrator and teacher with Penobscot Job Corps Center.

Her parents later started My Maine Bag, a very successful business that her mother, Patricia Hannan-Smith of Hampden, continues to operate.

“MDA conducts research and provides community services, education, etc. for a number of neuromuscular diseases,” Meaghan Hannan wrote. “I think that the amount of money they provide for Lou Gehrig’s research is second only to MDA itself.”

She entered the event, she wrote, because she “wanted to do something special for the 10-year anniversary” of her father’s death.

He wasn’t a runner, she explained, and neither was she, until a year ago.

“I couldn’t run two miles without stopping,” she explained, “but he used to bring us to the marathon as children.

“When I first considered running a marathon in his memory, I could think of no better than Boston.”

As a member of the MDA team, Meaghan Hannan must raise $2,500.

She has raised half that amount, and the remainder is due Thursday, April 1.

This young woman has a great deal on her mind these days.

In addition to her training for the marathon, she is preparing to graduate two weeks after the marathon, and then move to Washington, D.C., where she will join the law firm of Hale and Dorr.

In the meantime, she is out raising money for MDA.

If you can help, donations can be made out to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and mailed to Carol Pirog, northeast region coordinator, MDA Miracle Marathon Team, P.O. Box 543, Ludlow, Mass., 01056.

Write Meaghan Hannan in the memo line so she will receive credit for your contribution.

On this wonderfully exciting day, there is one thing I know for sure: Meaghan Hannan will be running “the Boston” with a very special angel on her shoulder.

The list is lengthy, and there appears to be something for everyone who attends the Millinocket Area Rotary Club’s 2004 Auction beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at St. Martin Tours Catholic Church, 18 Colby St. in Millinocket.

Proceeds from this year’s event benefit Katahdin Nursing Home and the Hope & Unity Fund, and also will serve as matching grants for other community projects.

Tickets are $10 each and are available at Dead River Co., Pangburn Family IGA and Katahdin Printing Plus, all in Millinocket, or from any local Rotary Club member.

The Winterport Woman’s Club Community Auction begins with a preview and silent auction from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and live bidding from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 26, at Wagner Middle School, 40 Mountain View Drive in Winterport.

May Pardy reports that you are sure to find something you want or need.

Profits will benefit Winterport Woman’s Club community service projects.

At the auction, members of Partners in Education will sell refreshments to raise funds for school programs.

If you have items to donate, call Julie Logan at 223-4693.

Barbara Fister of My Friend’s Place, an adult day center, announced that it is sponsoring a free, 12-hour workshop, Best Friend’s Approach to Alzheimer’s Care.

The workshop will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on two Mondays, March 29 and April 5, at the center site, First United Methodist Church, 703 Essex St. in Bangor.

This workshop will help people understand the illness, enable them to assess a person’s strengths, consider the art of friendship, enhance the value of communication and engage the individual in meaningful activities.

A certificate will be issued to those who complete the 12-hour workshop, which will be facilitated by trainers from the Maine Alzheimer Project.

Registration is required, and can be done by calling My Friend’s Place, 945-0122.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.