PRESQUE ISLE — Recently, the Sherman Fire Department applied for and received a grant from the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation for the purchase of much-needed portable radios. In addition to the monies provided by the Aroostook County Fund, supplemental funds were donated by the Gauvin Lighthouse Fund, in partnership with Advantage Payroll Services, to enable the firefighters to purchase more radios.
Contributed photo
DONATION — The Sherman Fire Department applied for and received a grant from the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation for the purchase of much-needed portable radios. Attending the recent presentation were, from left, Rick Allen and Todd Hayes of the Sherman Fire Department; Heidi Graham, CEO, Advantage Payroll; and Ray Gauvin, president, Advantage Payroll and chair, Gauvin Lighthouse Fund.
On Sept. 15, Rick Allen and Todd Hayes from the Sherman Fire Dept. received the check from representatives of the Gauvin Lighthouse Fund. Presenting the check are Heidi Graham, CEO of Advantage Payroll, and Ray Gauvin, president of Advantage Payroll in Presque Isle and chair of the Gauvin Lighthouse Fund.
According to Allen Sherman, firefighter and contact person for the portable radio project, “These radios will help the firefighters keep in touch with the officer in charge of any emergency scene. This project will allow the fire department to adopt the radios into the 9-1-1 dispatch servers provided by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and will allow the leaders of the Sherman Fire Department to be in contact with police as well as ambulance services. Our project will continue until we get 16 radios."
The Gauvin Lighthouse Fund was created in 2000. After the sale of several downstate franchises of his business, Advantage Payroll Services, Gauvin wanted to give back to the community and the county that had helped him become successful in life. So he, and his wife, Sandy, created the Gauvin Lighthouse Fund to support organizations that need a helping hand to better themselves, and, in turn, their community.
According to Gauvin, “We’re able to make donations to projects like these because of the success of our out-of-state, as well as our Aroostook County, business, Advantage Payroll Services. It’s an honor to give back to the communities that have supported us for over 25 years.”
Anyone who would like to donate to this worthwhile cause can call Rick Allen at (207) 267-4891, or Jeff Packard at (207) 365-7361.
