‘Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day’ set for Saturday

Camp Sunshine, an award-winning retreat in Casco for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, has announced plans for Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day.

The “Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day” is a free, national initiative that calls for people of all ages to carve, paint or decorate pumpkins at home on Saturday, Oct. 24 and share their images on social media using the Instagram hashtag #CarveforCamp.

Organizers hope to connect with more people than ever before, as plans for the annual Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival, which has been a fall tradition throughout the Northeast since 2003, had to be restructured this year because of the pandemic.

"Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day was designed to be a fun and festive way for communities across the country to come together and show their support for the families Camp Sunshine serves," said Michael Katz, Camp Sunshine's Executive Director. "This event will also help us continue to reach new families

who may be able to benefit from our programs."

Everyone who participates in Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day and submits a photo of a pumpkin that they've carved, painted or decorated using the hashtag #CarveforCamp on Instagram will be automatically entered to win a $100 L.L. Bean gift card.

It's entirely free to participate in Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Carving Day. For more information and ways to support Camp Sunshine's mission, visit www.campsunshinepumpkinfestivals.org.

Founded in 1984, Camp Sunshine provides retreats combining respite, recreation and support, while enabling hope and promoting joy, for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through the various stages of a child's illness.

Camp Sunshine's program is offered year-round and has the distinction of having been designed to serve the entire family in a retreat model.

The program is free of charge to families and includes on-site medical support. Bereavement sessions are also offered for families who have experienced the death of a child from a supported illness. www.campsunshine.org. <

Windham couple make it to final round to win a “Real Maine Wedding” with plans to donate to Windham Food Pantry

Stephanie Frost and Mitchell Hodge

By Lorraine Glowczak

Since 2011, the publishers of Real Maine Weddings magazine have hosted a fun competition for couples getting ready to tie the knot for a chance to win a $100,000 wedding prize at a beautiful Maine venue. Past host communities have been located in idyllic Maine locations such as Rockport, Kennebunkport, Peaks Island and Ogunquit to name a few. This year, the lucky winning couple will have their wedding celebrations in Bath and Phippsburg.

Windham natives and 2012 Windham High School graduates, Stephanie Frost and Mitchell Hodge, who became engaged to be married on October 19, 2019 entered the contest and have made it to the top three finalists. The final round of voting runs to midnight this Saturday, March 21st.

Frost stated that she and her fiancé were encouraged to enter the contest by her grandmother. “My
grandmother knew the couple that won last year,” Frost began. “She believed we had an interesting story and history to share so she thought we would be good candidates for this year’s Real Maine Wedding competition. So, we thought we’d give it a try and go for it.”

A fun history and story the couple does have. This is not the first time Frost and Hodge made The Windham Eagle news. In the December 7, 2018 edition, Sports Reporter Matt Pascarella highlighted Frost and her sister Samantha for their long-time connection and coaching experiences with the Windham Youth Basketball Association.

Hodge, on the other hand, was written about in the article, “Coach and Teacher Spotlight on Mother and Son”, highlighting him and his mother who are both educators and coaches for Windham students. The article, also written by Pascarella, was published in the January 4, 2019 edition.
Hodge and Frost grew up in Windham and although they knew one another while in high school, it wasn’t until they became friends at Keene College in New Hampshire that their love blossomed during their sophomore year. After receiving their degrees - Frost in communication; Hodge in theater with a minor is psychology - they returned to live and work in Windham, becoming engaged
approximately three years later.

The couple are active community members, giving back in multiple ways including coaching youth in soccer (Hodge) and basketball (Frost). But giving back to their hometown does not stop there. In a recent Facebook post, Hodge wrote the following:

“Coronavirus. Tom Brady. Let's take a minute and forget about the tragedies going on around us.
I have been bugging people about voting for Stephanie and I to win this wedding contest, but I've been trying to figure out a way to actually give back to the people voting for us. This includes people we've never met before. Steph and I want to give back to the community that we grew up in, live in, coach in, etc.  Between us directing the Windham Summer Camp, coaching youth and travel basketball, coaching high school soccer, working in Special Ed, Steph and I are passionate about the kids and families around us. Especially those in need. For every vote we receive throughout the final round of voting, we will donate ten cents. The money raised will be donated to the Windham Food Pantry. Steph and I want to give back and help the people around us, whether we win the contest or not. We will be giving back to our
community. That's the real win.”

If you haven’t done so already, help support Hodge and Frost win their dream wedding – and at the same time, help raise funds for the Windham Food Pantry.

The three Real Maine Wedding finalists are chosen based on a score determined by a weighted average that considers 50% of the public vote and 50% of the partnering vendors vote. Public voting consists of one vote per day per email address. The winner will be announced on March 22, 2020.

Vote once every day until midnight this Saturday and help not only this young Windham couple experience a wedding that dreams are made of but also helps those who could use some assistance during this challenging time. Again, for every vote received, the couple will donate ten cents to the Windham Food Pantry. To vote, go to www.realmaineweddings.com/Video-Contest/Vote-20

Windham High graduate reaches for the moon and lands beyond the stars

Cassidy Mullins

By Lorraine Glowczak

Who, among us, can say they not only accomplished a dream in less than a year after high school graduation but soared way beyond it? Cassidy Mullins of Windham, that’s who.

Mullins, a 2017 graduate of Windham High School, began an interest in body building during her junior year. “I have always enjoyed exercise,” explained Mullins. “So, I started watching various videos of body building on YouTube and knew that it was something I wanted to try, at least once in my life.”

After graduation, she took a few courses in exercise science, working on receiving her certificate in personal training and now works full-time at Planet Fitness in Windham. She knew where she needed to be and didn’t hesitate to do what she needed to do to work towards her dream. But it was a vacation in Florida during spring break that propelled her to land beyond the moon and accomplish what she set out to do her junior year.

“I went on vacation in April,” Mullins began. “When I looked at pictures of myself in a bikini, I wasn’t as fit as I hoped I would be. It was at that moment of looking at those pictures that I knew the time was now to act on my dream of body building.”

She immediately approached a local body building expert, Rose Beth Wilson, to get the ball rolling. “Rose Beth was on board with me and helped me to prepare for a body building competition.”

Immediately, Mullins began working on an exercise program and a strict diet to prepare her body for the annual Maine Event Body Building competition in Biddeford on September 22.

At this event, she won first place in novice category as well as first place in open category which allowed her to receive her “pro card”, giving her the ability to compete on a professional level at the next match on October 6 in Cape Cod where she was awarded first place as a professional on the body building level, at age 19!

As a result of winning this competition, Mullins is now in the running on a national level, competing against those who have many years of body building experience this Saturday, October 27 in Washington D.C.

However, as many who accomplish their dreams and goals, it doesn’t come without hard work. “I have many people approach me and want to know how they can make their bodies look like mine today,” Mullins began. “What I do – the seven days a week exercise program and the weekly diet to be a body building competitor – is not a liveable or healthy lifestyle. You must have a healthy mindset and consider the time involved in exercising and watching your eating habits. It is exhausting.”

Mullins explained that she works out every day, building specific muscle groups on certain days of the week. “I work a variety of specific muscles in a four to six-week program before switching up the plan,” she explained. “I also eat 85 grams of greens with each meal.”

Mullins will not continue this diet or exercise program after her competition in Washington D.C. this Saturday. “I will take a 6 month break to let my body repair itself and gain some of my healthy fat back. It is not only imperative to my future goals and success as a body builder – but the success of a long, healthy lifestyle.”

We wish you the best in Washington D.C. this weekend, Cassidy Mullins!