"Look What I Got!"
Hundreds of selfless moments make a dynamo of kindness named Penny Read
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Side Street Cafe’s New Year’s Eve Party.
BAR HARBOR—Back in 2016, during a local podcast, Bar Harbor’s Dean Read announced that he hadn’t given up a thing when he married his wife Penny. Instead, he said, with joy, "Look what I got!"
Dean got someone special, someone who has spent a lifetime bringing cheer to others, and helping people in pretty much every space she strides into.
He was right. A quick perusal of newspapers going back fifty years shows Penny Read volunteering for one nonprofit after another, raising their kids, taking care of her friends, smiling in photo after photo.
Dean got a dynamo and when the couple settled in Bar Harbor, the community got one, too.
“She’ll assess a situation, know what needs to be done, and just steps up and does it,” said Lisa Horsch Clark, past Bar Harbor (MDI) Rotary Club president and vice president of development and donor relations at Friends of Acadia.
And when Penny Read does that?
She makes a difference.
“She doesn’t need a job title,” Horsch Clark said. “She’s willing to work without accolades or invitation.”
There’s something else about Penny though.
”She’s just fun!” Horsch Clark said with a laugh.
Though not a Rotarian herself, Penny helps year after year with the Bar Harbor (MDI) Rotary Club’s Fourth of July celebrations on the Park Street ball fields. That celebration funds the club’s support of local nonprofits.
“She just is like ‘you know, Lisa, we just need this, that, and the other over here,’” Horsch Clark said. And Penny will be right about what needs to be done. More than that, though, she’ll go do it.
“I love Penny Read,” Horsch Clark said.
Horsch Clark is not the only one who does. Last month, the MDI Hospital Auxiliary honored Penny Read for her time serving the group, the hospital, and the community.
“Penny has been the president of the Hospital Auxiliary since 2019, seeing the group through COVID and the return to normalcy afterwards. She leads events like the Bake Sales in Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor, and volunteers at all Auxiliary events such as the 4th of July Jewelry Sale and the Annual Silent Auction and Raffle at the Community Celebration,” said Mariah Cormier, public affairs officer at the hospital.
Every year, the Auxiliary consistently raises over $10,000 annually for MDI Hospital. Those funds go directly to items and initiatives that enhance the patient experience, making a difference at a time when a lot of people are feeling vulnerable.
“The Hospital Auxiliary has been around for 76 years and has been an integral part of supporting community engagement, fundraising, and volunteerism. Volunteers are incredibly important at MDI Hospital as an independent, rural, critical access hospital,” Cormier said. “When construction began last year on the central utility project, the hospital had to move the main entrance from the back of the hospital to the Wayman Lane entrance. Volunteers, most of them Auxiliary members, jumped at the chance to help. They gave their time and their positive attitudes to the main entrance, greeting patients as they arrived and directed them where they needed to go. That’s just one example of the importance of volunteers, particularly Auxiliary members, enhancing patient experience and the sense of community at the hospital.”
Penny was right in the midst of that volunteering, but more than that, she was a huge part of making it fun and motivating others to help.
“Penny helped immensely in cultivating that community spirit and spirit of volunteerism within the Auxiliary, to go above and beyond their typical events to really become a part of the hospital’s initiatives. We were happy to celebrate her time as president of the Auxiliary and look forward to her continued engagement in Auxiliary as a member!” Cormier said.
M. Chad Kessel, who volunteers with her, agreed about how important Penny Read was to the Auxiliary and the community.
“She was asked to serve on the MDI Hospital Auxillary by the prior CEO of the hospital and gladly accepted,” Kessel said. “She immediately became president that year. Within a year, Covid occurred, leaving many challenges so her one-year commitment became over five years.”
Though the commitment grew so long, Penny Read never stopped.
“She formed many bonds and raised thousands of dollars with the help of her loyal volunteers,” Kessel said. “She provided many selfless hours working hand in hand with MDI Hospital advancement and an example to us all to raising funds for things that impact direct patient care and items hospital staff needs that are not necessarily funded by a hospital budget. On top of that providing the positive energy in helping volunteers to continue to stay engaged in this effort. She and her husband, Dean have provided funding and a commitment to a reader’s program through the hospital. It’s so important to both she and her husband, Dean that this legacy continues after her tenure and Chrissy made that happen.”
Making a lasting difference through kindness, through connections, through service, and through intellect, Penny Read has led through quiet example—though she’s a great talker—in the community for years.
“Penny is a perfect example of an ethical servant leader forging the path for all future volunteers and leaders within the organization,” Kessel said. “Although she stepped down as president, she will continue to volunteer and help future volunteers and leaders on their path. I feel privileged and honored to know and work with Penny and (she) provided me a lot of assistance when needed. The Auxiliary is still looking for the next MDI Auxiliary president to fill her role.”
This past September, the hospital surprised Dean and Penny Read with the naming of the Dean and Penny Readers program. The Reads made a gift and promise that allows every child who come in for wellness checks at the hospital to receive a book. The selfless act, MDI Hospital CEO and President Christina Maguire said, embodies what the hospital community is and what it wants to continue to be. That kindness is also exemplified by the MDI Hospital Auxiliary Program of volunteers, which held a silent auction at the event.
“You set the bar,” Maguire said that night, “and we are better for it.”
Horsch Clark said that Penny Read is about service, about kindness, but also about fun and courtesy.
“She remembers to say thank you and show appreciation. She acts like a Rotarian and if you think of the Four-Way Test, she embodies that,” Horsch Clark said.
Rotary International is a service organization that brings people together to take action to create positive change in their communities and the world. The Four-Way Test is meant to govern members choices before they take action and asks the questions:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
“She’s truthful. She looks to what helps others,” Horsch Clark said. “She doesn’t need to be in Rotary to do good. She just does it. I’m a big Penny Read fan.”
She’s not the only one.
UPCOMING EVENT
This Wednesday, the MDI Hospital Auxiliary hosts its 2024 jewelry sale.
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Another terrific capture of a real person. Thank you for honoring Penny Read