FARMINGTON — A familiar face in the Mt. Blue Regional School District has been named a recipient of the Maine Principals’ Association’s Service to Maine Youth Award.

Al Feather of Belgrade was chosen as one of two Maine school volunteers in recognition for his outstanding contributions. The manager of the Farmington branch of Hammond Lumber, he has volunteered at the Mallett School and at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington for the past eight years.

He started as a “lunch buddy” to kindergartners and as a mentor, W. G. Mallett School Principal Tracy Williams said, but he quickly expanded his commitment to serve as an adviser.

“I nominated Al after having been to a few conferences for Maine Principals’ Association and listened to descriptors of winners of the Service to Maine Youth Award,” she said. “By that time, I’d gotten to know a lot about Al and his dedication to community service and knew he was a great candidate for this award.”

Williams nominated him and also asked her staff to contribute their recommendations.

“Everyone was eager to help, and this went on unbeknownst to Al,” she said. “And I should say that I doubt very much that Al does anything to attain any kind of recognition.”

Lunch buddies have lunch in the cafeteria with students selected by the school’s volunteer coordinator, Pauline Rodrigue, and help students engage in conversations with others at the table.

In the classroom, Feather gets down on the floor, coloring, painting, counting and building, along with classroom teacher Stacey Augustine and her kindergarten students. He speaks to students in a gentle upbeat way that relaxes those around him, Williams said, and he proves that small acts of kindness make a difference.

Feather started an effort to fund and build picnic tables at the Mallett School, and a year later, volunteers built a gazebo, as part of his Sun Safety program. Her and his band of volunteers attended meetings with other groups and worked with the district’s Foster regional Applied Technology Center to present a design and raise funds.

“I recall seeing Al and his small group of builders on a weekend in the summer in a torrential downpour, out there trying to get it done before school opened in a few days,” Williams said.

Recently, Feather brought The Peace Book, written by Todd Parr, to students to inspire the gift of giving. Staff and students collected 40 bags of items to donate to the Franklin County Children’s Task Force.

Feather also founded the Mt. Blue High School Interact Club, in partnership with the Farmington Rotary Club. Students have raised funds with a fashion show for pets, and some projects have been much more challenging and complex. The first big endeavor was the ‘Truck Show’ at the Farmington fairgrounds, with a showcase of “really big equipment” to explore and pretend to drive.

“I see Al try to encourage kids in leadership roles and help them understand what the obstacles might be without shutting down the process,” she said.

Feather formerly was a board member of the Waterville Rotary Club and has worked for Hammond Lumber since 1983. He also has coached youth sports for 15 years and was instrumental in bringing the New England Babe Ruth Baseball championships to Belgrade.

When Feather has a spare moment, he edits Farmington Rotary’s monthly newsletter, which, for the past two years, has won third place in a district of 53 clubs. As Farmington’s part of Rotary’s Centennial Project, he also is helping to coordinate the conversion of the local railroad bed into a walking/hiking/biking trail. He chairs the Rotary chapter’s World Service Committee, which participated in Rotary International’s response to the Japan’s tsunami disaster and raised enough money to replace an Asian family’s fishing boat.

As the 2012 Service to Maine Youth awardees, Feather will be honored at the MPA’s Spring Conference awards banquet in April.