Jeff Mills ’82, UMaine Foundation President/CEO, Annemarie Albiston & Bruce Albiston ’72
The Speech Therapy Telepractice Program at the University of Maine has provided support and experience for students who study communications sciences & disorders. Led by Dr. Judy Walker, the Telepractice Program offers students opportunities for hands-on learning with clients in the Orono and greater Bangor areas.
In August 2017, the Telepractice Program was awarded a generous donation by Bruce and Annemarie Albiston. Bruce, a member of the UMaine Class of 1972, and Annemarie reside in Carrabassett Valley and are co-founders of the Aphasia Center of Maine. Their annual aphasia retreat, the Andre R. Hemond Aphasia Retreat Weekend, is held at Oceanwood in Ocean Park, Me. The retreat is named for Annemarie’s late father, Andre, who was diagnosed with aphasia due to complications from a stroke.
The Aphasia Center of Maine’s mission is to enhance the lives of persons living with Aphasia, and to help them grow. The goal is to provide recreational, educational and emotional support to those affected by Aphasia and their families.
Their most recent gift to Dr. Judy Walker’s program will aid in yet another remarkable expansion of the Telepractice Program, over the next three years. In order to show the Albiston’s what a positive effect their generosity has, the University of Maine Foundation and Dr. Walker invited them to campus on December 1, 2017 for an intimate reception for those who have been positively affected by their most recent gift. Dr. Jeffery Mills ’82, President/CEO of the UMaine Foundation emceed the event.
Fred Servello, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry & Agriculture attended the event and noted that private support like the Albiston’s gift provides incalculable effects on students and the surrounding speech therapy community.
