FARMINGTON — Friday evening two past presidents of Western Maine Community Action (WMCA) gave talks, that often drew laughter and smiles from staff and guests, on the retirement of Fenwick Fowler who is the executive director of WMCA.

His (Fen’s) insights and experiences will be – and should be – in great demand as our community continues to face modern challenges, she said.

UMF vice president Celeste Branham first took an alliterative approach.

“Fen Fowler of Farmington in Franklin County flabbergasted his friends and family with forty years of fronting our franchise,” she began. Fen is a visionary, a big picture guy, she continued. “He has a kind, compassionate and generous heart,” she said.

Branham referred to two of Emerson’s quotes: “The reward of a thing well done is having done it” and “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

“Fen’s reward is having done it well. Our community, particularly those who struggle to live healthy, warm, food secured, dignified lives are better for his leadership of WMCA,” she said.

On behalf of WMCA, Branham and Ellen Grunblatt gave Fowler a chiming pendulum clock. Earlier in the day, Fowler received other gifts of appreciation. Carlene Tremblay, with the office of U.S. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, presented him with a flag that had flown over the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in Fenwick’s honor.

The Career Center gifted Fowler with a wooden bench inscribed with the WMCA logo. Staff members gave him a gift to help Fowler remember the candy dish outside his office that was nicknamed “The Trough”. On Friday he was told, “This is Fen’s Trough. We hope this little gift doesn’t go to ‘waist’.”

Fowler thanked the WMCA board for the clock (which began to chime before it was given to him). “Our board could laugh at situations and then get down to brass tacks and solve the problems,” he said.

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