BREWER, Maine — Friends and colleagues took time Thursday to remember the compassion, dedication and ingenuity of Dennis Marble’s nearly 20 years of work as director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.
During a goodbye roast Thursday at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, they also recalled his gift of gab, love of golf, tendency to forget names and his propensity for repeating stories.
Marble will retire at the end of the year, and program manager Rowena Griffin will take over.
Marble is credited with helping increase the shelter’s charitable donations by 500 percent, bolstering transitional housing opportunities and fortifying lobbying efforts to increase sensitivity for people experiencing homelessness.
He jokingly donned a plastic crown and red cloak during the ceremony that coincided with the shelter’s annual meeting, which was heavily attended.
“I was unprepared for the number of people, the value you all hold for me and frankly what it means that you’re all here,” Marble told attendees.
During the meeting, Bangor Mayor Nelson Durgin presented Marble a key to the city. Those who spoke included Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, via video message.
She praised Marble for working to ensure that no one in the Bangor region has to suffer the poverty of neglect.
“There is more to Dennis than policy and programs,” she said. “To him, those who need shelter are not statistics or case studies. They are real people, each with their own stories, their own struggles and their own dreams.”
Marble said he leaves secure in the knowledge that he is handing control of the organization to a capable replacement. He also said there is no homogenous group that one could accurately describe as the homeless.
“They are all individuals who represent a wide range of characteristics,” he said. “We do meet true victims in pain.”
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.