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Dedication
The Buxton Board of Selectmen is pleased to dedicate
This year’s Annual Report to:
MIA B. DODGE
Mia Dodge and her husband, David, moved to
Buxton in 1976 and immediately began renovating
their home that was built byThomas Pennell in the
late1800s, aprocess that continues to thisday. Their
children, Dana and Caitlin, grew up there. Not one
for relishing idle time Mia has been a member of
the Portland Community Chorus for more than
30 years and has sung in the Portland Symphony
Orchestra’s “Magic of Christmas” concerts for over
30 years as well. In addition, Mia has served on
the Board of Directors of the Leavitt’s Mill Health
Center in Bar Mills and presently serves on the
Board of Directors of the Saco River Theatre which
provides the southern Maine area with musical
and theatrical events. Several years ago theTheatre
made a movie, “Forty West” which was filmed
locally and Mia coordinated the provision of
meals for all of the cast and staff, to include Wayne
Newton, for several weeks.
Also, Mia wrote, edited and published the “Buxton
News” from her home computer. The “News”
was a monthly publication that kept the people of
Buxton informed concerning town government
and other town related events and programs and
was issued for approximately ten years.
The program that has been the nearest and dearest
to Mia’s heart started a little over twenty years
ago when she went to Town Hall to ask if there
might be a family in Buxton that could use some
help at Christmastime. She was given the name
of such a family and her family gathered toys and
necessities and delivered them to a very thankful
mom, dad and their children. After a few years
of sponsoring a single family during the holiday
season, Mia’s dedicated sense of charity and giving
could not be contained. On November 15, 1995
Mia approached the Town’s Selectmen to ask if she
could start a program that would find and serve
all of the needy kids in Buxton at Christmastime.
With the Board’s unanimous approval, the Buxton
Toy Box came to be. For the past twenty years
Mia’s boundless energy and her dedicated group
of volunteers have annually provided over one
hundred Buxton children with not only Christmas
toys but with daily essentials such as boots, shoes,
warm coats and bedding. The Buxton Toy Box has
become an annual tradition in town and because
of Mia and her Christmas elves will continue for
years to come.