LEWISTON – The Maine Volunteer Connection, the University of Southern Maine/Lewiston-Auburn and the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce will present a day-long seminar Friday, Sept. 10, titled “A Moment of Thoughtfulness: Ethics and Decision Making In Public Policy.”

The seminar is the first in a series to support the development and growth of community leaders in Maine. Future conferences will include volunteer management, development of workplace programs as a commitment to community, and leadership development for community involvement.

The first event will be held at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn campus. Frank Murphy, JD, from Kansas City, Mo., will present the program.

Murphy has received several awards for his program development on behalf of disabled citizens in Jackson County, Mo., and his work is used as a model by other organizations and agencies. After receiving a bachelor of arts from Tulane and a JD from Washington University, Murphy practiced law and was a partner in one of the oldest law firms in Kansas City. In 1988, he withdrew from that partnership to represent persons with disabilities.

He served as public administrator of Jackson County, where he developed a staff-volunteer partnership to ensure that the interests of persons with disabilities were properly addressed. The program continues today.

Murphy left the county position in 1994 to form the Community Network for Behavioral Healthcare, dedicated to provide health care services to the Medicaid population – another model project. He has returned to private practice and also serves as an adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and is on the advisory board for the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas.

The seminar agenda is as follows: 8 to 8:45 a.m., registration, continental breakfast; 8:45 to 9, opening remarks, Jack Nicholas, commissioner, state DHHS; 9 to 10:30 a.m., Session I: Clearing the Brush: Creating a Clear Decision-Making Field.

10:45 a.m. to noon, Session II: Jarring You Loose from Routine Decision-Making; noon to 1 p.m., lunch; 1 t 4 p.m., Session III: The Principles of Ethical Decision-Making and How They Can be Applied in Social Services.

The registration fee is $125 (includes materials, refreshments, lunch). Reduced rates are available for Maine Volunteer Connection members and USM students and staff.

Anyone interested is encouraged to register by Sept. 5 by mailing a check or purchase order to MVC, PO Box 327, Augusta, ME 04332-0327. Purchase orders may be e-mailed to [email protected]. For more information, people can call Roger Philippon at L-A College at 753-6560.