PORTLAND – Nancy Thibodeau, the driving force behind biathlon events at the Maine Winter Sports 10th Mountain Ski Center in Fort Kent, is one of four prominent women who received the Deborah Morton Award on Tuesday during ceremonies at the University of New England’s Westbrook College campus.

The Morton Awards, presented annually since 1961 by the UNE trustees, honor women who have achieved high distinction in their careers and public service or shown exceptional leadership in civic, cultural or social issues.

Thibodeau directed the Biathlon World Cup in 2004 as well as the 2005 Winter Paralympic Championships, as well as several national biathlon championships and the 2006 TD Banknorth Festival at Fort Kent, which served as a selection event for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team.

Also receiving the Morton Award on Tuesday were author and community leader Martha Tod Dudman, educator and former Bangor Theological Seminary vice president Esther Nettles Rauch, Ph.D., and Maine Chief Justice Leigh Ingalls Saufley.