FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Children’s Task Force will celebrate its 35th birthday Thursday, Oct. 3, with music and a speech by state Attorney General Janet Mills. 

The celebration will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the North Dining Hall at the University of Maine at Farmington. Music will be performed by Silas Rogers.

In 1978 a group of dedicated parents and professionals sat around a table discussing the wants and needs of families in Franklin County. What came from those regular coffee hours was an organization that today employs 11 full-time staff and provides services that range from parent education to home visits.

The history of the Task Force, as it has come to be known, started with a volunteer board of directors doing the work, slowly progressing to hiring its first executive director, Tony Scucci, in 1983.  

Scucci served as director until 1996, when Elizabeth Kuhlman took over the job.  She brought an awareness of bullying prevention and implemented it in almost all elementary schools in the area. 

Upon Kuhlman’s retirement, Steve Russell joined the agency in 2003, leading the charge in the Tri-County area in a well-respected Early Learning Opportunity Grant.  That grant was finished by Executive Director Tom Taylor, who was followed by current Executive Director Renee Blanchet.

Today, the Task Force supports even more families through Maine Families Home Visitation, parent education, school-based violence prevention and its always popular clothing exchange. 

The Task Force invites the public to join in celebrating its 35th year. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Franklin County Children’s Task Force at 207-778-6960.