June 07, 2010 (Freeport, Maine) – LLBean recently honoured Mary Anne Levins as an Outdoor Hero for her continued work with and support of the kids skiing community in New England. Steve Fuller, Chief Marking Officer at L.L. Bean, presented the award to Mary Anne in the Discovery Lobby at the Flagship Store in Freeport, Maine. Many employees and members of the Maine skiing community gathered to celebrate Mary Anne’s accomplishments.

Every year L.L.Bean recognizes “individuals who are helping to preserve wild spaces and promote outdoor recreation” with a $500 personal gift card and a $5,000 donation to the organization they support. Candidates are evaluated on their “contribution to creating, maintaining, teaching about or promoting the use of outdoor recreational space through his or her contributions to a qualifying nonprofit organization.”

Mary Anne has a number of great accomplishments under her belt, but one of the most admirable is her continued support of kids skiing in New England. She has an incredible “can-do” attitude and recognizes that fun and games are at the root of any successful ski program. Although her youngest child, Chloe, is in the last years of Bill Koch, Mary Anne continues to bring the same vigor and charm to her duties as she did when her oldest son Jimmy (now a junior at Middlebury College) was young.

Mary Anne is the Chair of the New England Bill Koch League Committee and has been since 2004. She is a very active member of this committee and is the driving force behind Bill Koch League Festival decisions and communications. At the actual event she works behind the scenes to guarantee the event’s success by providing overall event leadership and continuity from year to year and acting as registrar and “timer’s helper.”

In keeping with the theme of “fun,” Mary Anne organizes the largest Paintball Biathlon event in the country, the Mountain Top/Tippman Paintball Biathlon held in Chittenden, VT. It is a weekend extravaganza designed to introduce kids to the sport of biathlon, get families outside and skiing together, and attract skiers to the fabulous trails at Mountain Top.

In her own area of Rutland, Vermont she has initiated and now leads the successful Mountain Top Bill Koch League Club for kids. This is a program that runs the entire winter and includes many family based activities including backcountry ski tours and a New Years bonfire.

Many thanks to Mary Anne for her continued enthusiasm and hard work!

More photos here.
Read more about the L.L. Bean Outdoor Hero Award  here.