Maine Sea Coast Mission to honor departing Allens

BAR HARBOR – David and Betty Allen are not getting goodbyes only from the island residents they’ve come to know over the years.

The Maine Sea Coast Mission has decided to throw them a retirement party. The event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, at the mission’s headquarters on West Street in Bar Harbor.

The Allens’ combined 65 years of service to the mission will be recognized with a permanent scholarship named in their honor. The David and Betty Allen Scholarship, funded through the mission, will provide $1,000 each year to a deserving student from Mount Desert Island or the several offshore islands the mission ship Sunbeam serves. The scholarship money will be dedicated to studies in seamanship, culinary arts or visual arts.

The Rev. Gary DeLong, executive director of the mission, said Thursday that how soon the scholarship will be awarded depends on fundraising efforts. He said the mission hopes to have chosen the first David and Betty Allen scholar by next year.

“People have been generous already,” he said.

As for the vessel’s new crew, the new captain will be a familiar face, according to DeLong. Michael Johnson, the Sunbeam’s engineer for the past five years, will take over the helm from David Allen.

A University of Maine graduate, Johnson served as the Mount Desert harbor master in Northeast Harbor, Sunbeam’s homeport, before taking the engineer job, according to DeLong. Johnson’s familiarity with the Sunbeam goes back to his childhood, when his father served as the boat’s engineer.

“Mike’s going to be the new captain,” he said. “We always knew the wonderful David Allen run wouldn’t last forever.”

Replacing Johnson as engineer will be Storey King of Southwest Harbor, while Felicia Bland of Ellsworth will become the new steward. Both King and Bland graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in Castine and are licensed in large vessel operations, DeLong said.

The executive director said that the training and experience of the new crew eventually should make them more interchangeable and help give the mission more flexibility in operating the Sunbeam.

“It gives us the capability for mixing and matching,” DeLong said. “We could expand use of the boat going forward. We’re pretty excited about it.”