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Dedication The Buxton Board of Selectmen is pleased to dedicate This year’s Annual Report to: MIA B. DODGE

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.

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

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