Amanda Ricci, owner of Lifeline for ME, LLC, participates in the tournament on Saturday, June 10. Fun was had all around as cornhole bags were flying. Brian Ponce/Franklin Jounral

FARMINGTON — Lifeline for ME, LLC partnered with High Flyers Cornhole to host a cornhole tournament on Saturday, June 10, to raise money to benefit Lifeline for ME’s newly opened recovery house.

Based out of Livermore Falls, Lifeline for ME, LLC offers help with mental health and substance use disorder in the Franklin County region.

The tournament took place at the Farmington Elks Lodge at 120 School St. in West Farmington. Signups for the tournament began at 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon with the tournament starting at 2:30. The cost for registration was $20.

The tournament followed three games of a switcholio round robin, which meant participants were partnered up randomly with other players, before entering a double elimination round. The winners of the tournament were Caitlin Knight and Ryan Greenman.

The tournament was put together to benefit Lifeline for ME and the Summit House, a recovery house in Farmington. The Summit House, which currently has four occupants, is a three-bedroom farmhouse that operates on a peer model system, meaning occupants hold each other accountable for their sobriety.

The tournament comes off the heels of a grant Lifeline for ME received from the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area. The grant awarded $3,750 to Lifeline for ME to start a scholarship fund for The Summit House. The scholarship fund, according to Ricci, is there to help applicants with upfront costs of moving into the recovery residence. The cornhole tournament was meant to add to the fund, as well as create funds for house maintenance.

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Kenneth Williamson goes over the rules for everyone involved in the tournament on Saturday, June 10. With the format a switcholio round robin, everyone got a chance to play with someone different before going into double elimination. Brian Ponce/Franklin Journal

Participants in the tournament included many familiar faces with High Flyers Cornhole, such as Kenneth Williamson, as well as Lifeline for ME’s own owner and chief administrative officer Amanda Ricci. Also in attendance was Donald Mclaughlin-Townsend, the house manager for The Summit House.

“Amanda’s been a huge supporter for us,” Mclaughlin-Townsend said. One year clean from alcohol and crack cocaine, Mclaughlin-Townsend hopes to continue the road to recovery by helping those who were in the same position he was in, and Ricci is helping him to reach that goal.

“As far as I’m concerned, she is a huge boon to the community,” he said.

For more information on Lifeline for ME, or to donate, please visit their website at www.lifelineforme.org/recovery or their facebook page at www.facebook.com/LifelineforMERecovery.

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