Beautiful Sebasco Harbor Resort was the setting for a recent forum sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission. The purpose was to both celebrate the accomplishments of the Discovery Research Program and to discuss the next steps for grant making, as well as provide an overview of the Community Arts Development Program, a new program with an emphasis on capacity building for local arts organizations in Maine. As Keith Ludden, Community Arts & Traditional Arts Associate explained, “with any changes in programming, we try to involve the public and gather input.

We live in a world that is becoming more and more impersonal. A world that forgets its past at the peril of losing a connection with the bedrock of where it came from. Cultural preservation is an important aspect of maintaining that connection and remaining grounded with who we are as a people. Preservation can take the form of historical research into the past. It also might involve the embrace of an art form by an artist, or the preservation of a craft by an artisan.

In the case of Theresa Secord of Waterville, an artisan and a member of the Penobscot Nation, her contribution to cultural preservation has taken the form of maintaining the vitality of

tribal basketmaking. Her involvement came from the realization ten years ago that basketmaking among Native peoples might someday die out without intervention. She knew that the commitment needed to come from a group of artisans bent on preserving their craft. From the genesis of this idea, Secord has become one of the founders and a driving force behind the Maine

Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA). This alliance has been credited with reviving the endangered art of tribal basketmaking in Maine.

Over the last decade, MIBA has seen its membership of trained tribal basketmakers grow from 55 to 120. Not only has membership grown, but there are a growing number of younger

basketmakers coming to the craft. MIBA has seen the average age of members decrease from 63 to 43 years of age. As membership has grown and introduced the craft to the younger generations,

the alliance has begun programs such as periodic workshops in all five reservation communities in Maine, the sponsoring of a demanding year-long apprenticeship program, annual gatherings

and markets for tribal basketmakers and a marketing campaign featuring the Wabanaki Arts Center Gallery in Old Town. MIBA baskets have been featured at a special exhibition in New York City, at the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institute. Additionally, the alliance has produced a comprehensive tourism guide to native art and culture in Maine.

For these efforts, Secord was honored in October of last year by the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) with a prestigious international prize. On the tenth anniversary of the

WWSF prize, Secord became the first United States citizen to receive the “Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life.

Last month, Hyde School held its Spring Family Weekend. This weekend is the highlight of the local boarding school’s spring calendar. Bringing families to the campus for an intense three day flurry of meetings, activities, sporting events and performing arts is part of the school’s larger mission of integrating the family into each student’s educational process.

When Joseph Gauld founded the school in 1966, he saw many students going through the public school system, only to graduate without reaching their maximum potential. Gauld developed a holistic approach, which stressed character at its core and brought each family into the educational process.

At Hyde, integrating families into the educational mix allows sons and daughters to reach their unique destiny that their potential pushes them towards.

While the perception of many outside of the Hyde community is that the school is for “troubled kids,

A personal inventory is a great place to start in accessing skills and abilities

The alarm’s chatter rips you from your world of dreams and comfort. Rolling over, you hit snooze and lie there, bringing your day into focus. Does the thought of your work day spur you to burst forth from your bed, anxious to begin your day? Or, does the consideration of the next 10 to 12 hours give you a knot in your stomach and drive you deeper beneath the covers?

Regardless of which scenario describes your current situation, the start of a new year is an excellent time to take stock of where you are at in your job, your career, and your life. Like a trusted signpost on life’s journey, the rollover of the calendar offers each one of us an opportunity to see where we are and make adjustments as to where we are going.

A simple inventory

When was the last time that you honestly evaluated your skills and abilities? Is the job, or position that you currently occupy making use of the talents that you possess? Because it’s so simple and requires nothing more than a piece of paper and a pen or pencil, taking a skills inventory is often overlooked.

There are certainly a battery of tests and evaluations that will cost you money and take much more time, but starting with your trusty paper and writing utensil will give you a great starting point for any future personal improvement that you are willing to tackle.

Take your paper and divide it into two columns, labeled “skills and abilities