SCARBOROUGH — Recently the Maine Public Relations Council, the state’s premier association of public relations professionals, presented Jon Paradise, senior vice president of Communications, Marketing and Community Outreach at Town & Country Federal Credit Union, with the 2022 Midge Vreeland Public Service Award. The award, named in honor of the late Midge Vreeland, a highly respected public relations practitioner, recognizes an outstanding public relations professional for his or her dedicated commitment and service to the community.
In announcing Paradise as the recipient, John Lamb, current president of MPRC, highlighted some of Paradise’s long-standing involvement in community-service. “In addition to being a first-rate Public Relations practitioner (and former MPRC President and recipient of the 2010 Edward L. Bernays Award for the Outstanding PR Professional in Maine), Jon is an avid volunteer in the Greater Portland and Maine communities. His most significant work comes each year with the Annual CU Swish-Out Childhood Cancer Challenge. The three-on-three basketball tournament, in its 28th year, has raised more than $650,000 for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. Jon recruits teams, secures sponsors, and does countless media interviews to promote the event. I have taken photos of the event, and it is truly impressive to watch. His community service also includes a long history of serving on the Boards of various non-profits and he currently serves on the Boards of the Maine Children’s Cancer Program; the Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy; the University of Southern Maine Alumni Engagement Council; and the University of Southern Maine Athletic Advisory Council. Thank you, Jon, for your tireless efforts of behalf of the community.”
In accepting the award, Paradise said, “Having known Midge personally and admired her work in the community, this is a special honor. I am a firm believer that giving back is an important part of being part of a community. I am fortunate to work at an organization that values community-service so much and to participate with so many other outstanding individuals in some of the wonderful non-profit and community organizations that enrich where we live. I am humbled to contribute in some small way to these efforts. Thank you for this touching award.”
As Maine’s second largest credit union with 40,000 members, Town & Country is a full-service financial institution offering a wide range of financial products and services to people who live, work, go to school or worship in Cumberland and York Counties. Town & Country is the only Maine credit union to be designated as one of Maine’s ‘Best Credit Unions’ by Forbes in three out of the past five years, the credit union has $515 million in assets, and is part of the largest branch network in the country. To learn more, visit http://www.tcfcu.com.
