Sportscaster Gary Thorne ’70 and Businesswoman Meredith Burgess ’78 Highlight 2004 CCAC Annual Meeting and Dinner
Contact: Doug Bennet, UMaine South Portland Office at 828-2327
Portland, Me. — The Cumberland County Alumni Chapter of The University of Maine is pleased to announce that UMaine alumnus Gary Thorne, class of 1970, will be the honored guest speaker at the group’s annual meeting and dinner on Sept. 21 in Portland.
The evening will begin with a social at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:15 p.m. and will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland West, off exit 48 of the Maine Turnpike. The general public is welcome to attend.
Thorne is a 1970 graduate of the University of Maine with a BS in business. He graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1973 and received a doctorate in law in 1976 from the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a former assistant district attorney in Bangor, Maine, and was admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court in March 1977. In January 2000 he joined ABC Sports as a play-by-play commentator on the network’s coverage of the National Hockey League.
In addition to hearing from Thorne, the Chapter will honor local businesswoman and civic leader Meredith Strang Burgess, class of 1978. As owner of Burgess Advertising & Associates of Portland, Burgess is the recipient of many awards, including the Conwell Award from the Advertising Club of Greater Portland and YWCA’ s Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) award. She is a past recipient of the UMaine Alumni Association’s Block “M” award and, in 1996, she received a Volunteers of America “Star” award. Burgess currently serves on The University of Maine’s Board of Visitors.
This is the third year the Cumberland County Alumni Chapter of The University of Maine has honored a southern Maine alumnus or alumnae. Past winners include Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Leigh Ingalls Saufley, class of 1976, and Bill Johnson ’56, former Vice President of Mobile-Exxon and Mayor of Saco, and a member of University of Maine System Board of Trustees.