JAY, Maine—OTIS Federal Credit Union has donated $5,000 to Maine’s Paper & Heritage Museum in Livermore Falls, Maine.
The donation brings the Paper Museum closer to its goal of raising $25,000 to match a grant received for building repairs.
The Paper Museum building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was originally built in 1906. Due to the age of the building, the foundation and gutters need repair, as well as the leaky roof. To fix the foundation and gutter system, the museum received a $25,000 matching grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, which is administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
The grant requires that the museum raise $25,000 in matching funds by the end of November 2023.
Above, from left: Bouchard, President/CEO, OTIS FCU; Darice Roy, CCUE, Vice President, OTIS FCU; Duane Lake, Chairman, OTIS FCU Board of Directors; Gary Desjardins, Vice Chairman, OTIS FCU Board of Directors; Greg Bizier, Museum President; Sherry Judd, Museum Vice President & Founder; Brenda Clark, Museum Volunteer; Mary Howes, Museum Treasurer
According to Museum President Greg Bizier, the organization had raised $8,000 toward the grant before OTIS FCU’s donation.
After being made aware of the museum’s financial needs, the OTIS Federal Credit Union Board of Directors immediately acted and voted to donate $5,000.
“The paper industry helped shape this community and provide for generations of families as well as businesses both near and far,” said OTIS FCU President/CEO Chris Bouchard. “Being a credit union founded by local millworkers, it’s in our heritage. The remarkable individuals who volunteer at this museum are committed to preserving our community’s unique history in the paper industry. We are honored and privileged to be able to provide support to Maine’s Paper and Heritage Museum.”
Maine’s Paper & Heritage Museum has many different artifacts and displays about the paper industry in general in addition to local community and paper mill history. Its mission is “To create an exciting interactive museum where visitors can experience life in a paper-making community, as well as to encourage tourism, increase economic activity and showcase the distinctive heritage of the area.”
OTIS Chairman Duane Lake and Vice Chairman Gary Desjardins encouraged those who have relatives that worked in the paper industry to consider donating to the Paper Museum in their memory.