WESTBROOK – Four credit unions from the Lewiston/Auburn area and western Maine recently were the state’s 2004 recipients of the Dora Maxwell Awards for Social Responsibility and the Louise Herring Philosophy In Action Awards. The winners in each asset category will compete in the national awards program in the fall.

A Maine credit union has received a first- or second-place award in the national competition in four out of the past five years.

Professionals from the Maine Public Relations Council judged the awards, which honor credit unions for service to members and the community. The awards follow the Maine credit union movement’s most successful year for community service and fund-raising.

Maine credit unions raised more than $400,000 for charitable causes, including $209,035 for the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, $60,000 for Maine Special Olympics, and more than $25,000 for the purchase of phone cards for troops through its Operation Phone Home – 2004 campaign.

The 2004 recipients of the Dora Maxwell Award for Social Responsibility, established to encourage credit union involvement in community projects and activities, were the Great Falls Regional Federal Credit Union in Lewiston, which took first place among credit unions with assets of $20 million to $50 million; Ste. Croix Regional Federal Credit Union in Lewiston, which took second place among credit unions with assets of $50 million to $100 million; and the Maine Family Federal Credit Union in Lewiston, which took an honorable mention in that category.

The 2004 recipients of the Louise Herring Award for Philosophy In Action, which formally recognizes credit unions that demonstrate in an extraordinary way the practical application of the credit union philosophy, are the Oxford Federal Credit Union in Mexico, which took first place among credit unions with assets less than $100 million; Ste. Croix Regional Federal Credit Union in Lewiston, which took second place in that category; and Maine Family Federal Credit Union in Lewiston, which took an honorable mention in that category.