Town Managers from Jay and Turner were given awards at an annual meeting of the Maine Town and City Management Association on Wednesday night.

Ruth Marden, Jay’s town manager, won the Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year Award – the highest award given by the MTCMA at its 63rd annual New England Management Institute in Bar Harbor, Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis said Thursday.

Winners are chosen based on “outstanding service with great integrity, (providing) tremendous support to the association … mentoring … and simply outstanding leadership,” former MTCMA President Nat Tupper said. “She qualifies extraordinarily well in those categories.”

Marden, 58, of Wilton, was nominated by several town managers, Tupper said. “She was a clear favorite. We call her Mother Marden – that’s just the way she is, caring for other members of the association, looking out for folks, keeping the organization organized.”

For her part, Marden said, she was surprised. “Every year at the banquet they announce the Linc Stackpole award for the year, and they stood up and started talking, and then they announced that it was me,” the six-and-a-half year veteran Jay manager said. “I was very humbled. I was surprised – I was sitting in a room of all professional managers and to be singled out … is just amazing.”

“I like the interaction with the people,” said Marden, who worked as the town manager in Livermore Falls prior to taking on the position in Jay. “I like being able to help people and I like being able to problem solve.”

“I’m still in a little bit of disbelief,” Marden said. “I was not excited about getting an award but now that I have it, it’s like ‘this is pretty neat.’ It’s quite a list of people to be on and I’m very privileged and I’m very grateful that my town is so supportive,” she said.

Jay Selectmen Stephen McCourt and Warren Bryant drove to Bar Harbor on Wednesday to attend the ceremony.

“We had been informed (of the award),” Bryant said. “Obviously, she was totally surprised and she, ah, broke down for a moment of course, like anybody. It’s an awesome award – it’s statewide, you know? … And it couldn’t be a higher show of respect for what she does, you know? It’s the ultimate.”

“Geezum,” Bryant said. “She’s done so much for the town. She’s started so many programs. She’s very, very caring about the people of the town and the state, really. She’s very concerned about their well-being.”

New Turner Town Manager Eva Leavitt won the Rookie of the Year Award at the same event. Leavitt, 59, of Turner took the position 16 months ago, she said. But she’s been in Turner all her life, and has worked for the town since 1987. “It’s a lovely community,” she said. “It’s rural Maine. Although Turner’s changing. In the last 10 years, with all the development and migration from the Lewiston-Auburn area … There used to be a time when I could tell you who lived in every house on Upper Street, but I can’t do that now.”

Leavitt was nominated by Turner selectmen and fire Chief Mike Arsenault, Selectman Jody Goodwin said. “She has turned out to be an exceptionally fine town manager, with little or no town manager experience,” Goodwin said. “She solved some problems that we had going on in town – some disputes. She handled them logically and objectively and well.”

Another reason Leavitt was nominated – and ultimately won – was her caretaking of Turner’s historic places, Goodwin said. “Cemeteries (have been) repaired, old buildings tended to properly. A lot of people in town are very grateful for that because it hasn’t been done in a number of years. And she just, overall, is doing a really fine job.”

Goodwin has known Leavitt for at least 30 years, she said. “I’ve lived here 37 years. I’ve known her at least 30 years. And everybody in town has, also.”