JAY — Verso Paper Corp.’s Androscoggin Mill recently announced that the mill’s purchasing manager, Jef Howell, will receive the Paper Industry Management Association’s 2011 Ray H. Cross Community Service Award.

The award pays tribute to pulp and paper industry professionals who have rendered outstanding service to their communities by involvement in the activities of local business, and educational, civic and philanthropic organizations.

Howell will receive the award during the 2011 PaperCon Conference in Covington, Ky., May 1-4.

A 1981 graduate of the University of Maine, Howell has worked at the Androscoggin Mill for 30 years and has been purchasing manager for the past 12 years. He has also worked in finance and the pulp group during his tenure at Verso.

Howell’s community involvement includes membership and past chairman of the Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls Chamber of Commerce. He has also served on the local school board, including several terms as chairman.

He is a past board member, commissioner and coach for area youth sports, and was active in his school district’s All Sports Boosters for many years. He currently serves as a board member, treasurer, and chairman of the finance committee for Franklin Community Health Network and Franklin Memorial Hospital. He is also a member of the University of Maine Pulp and Paper membership committee.

Howell and his wife, Cathi, a library media specialist at Livermore Falls High School, have been married for 27 years. They live in Livermore with their two children.