By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — When Connie Madura heard she was being honored as one of 20 Outstanding Women of 2022, she viewed it as an opportunity to promote the Naples Food Pantry.

Then, she learned that she was nominated because of her involvement with the food pantry, which very much opened the door for talking about it. 

Furthermore, she learned that the person who nominated her as an outstanding woman of the year was her adult daughter. 

“My daughter — she’s been helping with the food pantry since she was six,” Madura said. “And my grand-daughters come and help too. So there are three generations. My grand-daughter Ava was 16 months and she was carrying cans of peas and putting them in a bag. Then, we would tell her put one in the next bag, and she’d go get anothercan. That is three generations. I say that with so much pride.”

Michelle Thibodeau brims with pridewhen she describes her mother. In fact, those were the words she used when she nominated Madura for the recognition.

“This is my mom and I am so proud of who she is and what she does for the people in our community! Every Tuesday runs a food pantry for the residents of Naples — lots of prep work ahead of time and due to the pandemic this has been turnedinto a drive-through service, even in the winter months,” Thibodeau said. 

“Along with the pantry, every week she makes sure that the children of our community have a Christmas. This is something that she has done for several years. Each child is guaranteed 4+ gifts of needs/wants. This comes with a lot of help from the community businesses and members,” she wrote.

“I feel as though my mom is considered a neighborhood hero because of her HUGE heart, her drive to help her community and her caring personality. This is all volunteer work and she busts her butt,” Thibodeau said. “This community is thankful for her and her amazing team that cares for our neighbors in need.”

The food pantry is one of the programs offered by Community Resource Council (CRC) of Naples. Madura started volunteering for the CRCin the 1990s. She has been active with the council for decades. In November, a matter of months ago, Madura was named president of the CRC. 

In late February, Madura heard the news about the Outstanding Women of the Year, an award offered by Portland Radio Group and Hannaford.

Madura referred to the news as “humbling.”  The award was something that she didn’t really want to talk about. It might seem like bragging. She didn’t care to be in the limelight, she said. She does it for her community.

She was invited to the studios of Coast 93.1, where radio personalities Blake and Kelly interviewed her. Her interview was recorded. It will air for the first time this Friday at 6:50 a.m.  After that time, people will be able to hear the whole interview on the Coast 93.1 website, Madura said.   

“It [the interview] went well. I got to talk about the organization Community Resource Council of Naples and my involvement with the Naples Food Pantry. They asked a lot about my involvement with the community and the different programs,” she said. 

She also learned a little more about the recognition, which “celebrates women in Maine who go above and beyond to make their communities a better place to live,” according to Portland Radio Group’s webpage.

It was in the Town of Naples that Madura started her married life and raised her children. 

“I attended the United Methodist Church with our children. Andy and I raised our kids here in the church. When my kids were young, I helped with Vacation Bible School. Some of the ladies of the church invited me to join the council in the 1990s,” she said

She found other places in the community like the fire station, where she volunteered her time.

“I was a first responder for 42 years. I started in 1979 and my license expired last year,September 2021,” she said. “I started dispatching there was a red phone in my counter at home. The red phone system — anyone who did dispatching back then remember will know that.”

The Naples Recreation Committee is another very active group to which Madura donates her time. NRC brainstorms and pulls off many town-sponsored events for children and families. A few Sundays ago, Madura was outdoors as a NRC volunteer during the Family Sledding Day. Her daughter and grand-daughters joined in on the wintertime fun at Kent’s Landing.

Ever proving that Naples is wonderful community to live in year-round, Madura and her husband put a lot of effort into their family’s float in the Independence Day parade. 

“It’s a family tradition,” she said. 

Every year, the family members put their heads together and decide what the float will look like. 

“It depends on what the theme is and the float is. Sometimes, we don’t have a decision until June on what it is. The family gathers on the 2nd and 3rd of July for a cookout and decorating the float. If we have things to paint and build, that takes longer,” she said.

“We always try to hide it. We don’t let anybody know. We don’t reveal our secret until the Fourth,” Madura said. 

It might be out of sight, but the noise from having good family fun lasts through the night. 

“Sometimes, the neighbors are hearing our music until midnight and us putting the final touches on our float,” she said.