Smith & Wesson donates firearm for digital mammography charity auction

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — A second high-end item has been added to the Health Services Foundation’s charity auction, thanks to the efforts of Smith & Wesson.
    Plant manager Terry Wade has donated a Smith & Wesson 1911sc E-series handgun, valued at nearly $1,400, for the Foundation’s auction. The charity event will be held on Saturday, May 21, at York’s of Houlton Showroom on the North Road. A preview of the items will begin at 6 p.m. with the auction starting at 7 p.m. More than 80 pieces will be showcased that evening, thanks to the generosity of local and state of Maine artists.
    “The Foundation is so grateful to Smith & Wesson and Terry Wade for their donation of this extraordinary firearm to the Foundation’s Charity Auction,” said Elizabeth Dulin, executive director for Health Services Foundation. “It is our hope that those who truly appreciate the craftsmanship of Smith & Wesson firearms will come to the auction, see it, bid on it and support a truly important cause of supporting efforts to “fight breast cancer” at the local level.”
    “We are pretty proud of this gun,” Wade said. “It’s a more robust handgun. We thought this would be a big hit and wanted to make it our donation. We recognized this was a really good cause and it was something that benefited Houlton.”
    The gun was manufactured at the Houlton industrial park facility.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
AUCTION ITEM — Terry Wade, left, the plant manager for Smith & Wesson, shows Elizabeth Dulin, executive director for Health Services Foundation, the firearm that is being donated to the Foundation for its charity auction.
    “Terry said to me he wanted to do something very special, and this gun is,” Dulin said.
    Since 1983, the Foundation has been raising funds for Houlton Regional Hospital and other healthcare providers.
    “We continue to do so knowing our efforts see positive results by equipment, educational programs, and capital needs which are assisted to the best of our financial ability,” Dulin added.
    When Foundation trustees voted to accept the current project of raising funds to bring digital mammography to Houlton Regional, it was an easy decision.  In 2001 funds were raised to purchase Sophie, the current mammography equipment, which at that time was state-of-the-art.
    “At that time, we were delighted to be able to bring that equipment to the local area, now ten years later, it is vitally important that we stay ahead with the latest technology and bring digital screening to our hospital,” Dulin said. “With their donation, Smith & Wesson will be assisting the project toward a successful conclusion. Their generous support has always helped the Foundation with their annual Gold Sponsorship to the County Open as well
    “Smith & Wesson recognizes the importance of Houlton Regional throughout all the communities they serve, and the needs that face our local healthcare providers on a daily basis,” Dulin continued. “They truly understand that the Foundation’s mission of “Supporting Excellence in Healthcare” is a passion that never wavers, and funding of this project will have enormous far-reaching effects in support of earlier detection of breast cancer.”
    For more information on the auction, Foundation projects or other programs, call 521-2147 or visit the website at www.healthservicesfoundation.org.