Photo / Courtesy Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce
Adilah Muhammad
Updated: June 24, 2024
'Imagine Portland' awards honor community contributors
Photo / Alison Nason
Quincy Hentzel, president and CEO of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, at the 2024 Imagine Portland awards ceremony.
Three community leaders and a leading health care provider were honored by the Greater Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce last week in the group's annual "Imagine Portland" awards.
“This year we honored three individuals and one organization who each have made considerable contributions to the chamber’s top priorities of building more affordable housing, creating access to quality, affordable child care and ensuring Greater Portland is a welcoming community for all,” Quincy Hentzel, the chamber’s president and CEO, told Mainebiz.
“Each honoree has been an incredibly valued partner of our organization and we are grateful for their commitment to those who live and work in our community,” she added.
For her role as president and executive director of the Third Place, a Portland-based nonprofit that aims to connect Maine’s Black professionals, students and entrepreneurs to social, professional, and economic opportunities, Adilah Muhammad received the Catalyst Award.
Muhammad was recognized for her efforts to advance equity in the business community through connections and relationship-building.
Both Muhammad and Hentzel were honored as Mainebiz Women to Watch in 2021.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce
Cullen Ryan
Cullen Ryan, executive director of Community Housing of Maine, received the Collaborator Award for his efforts to provide inclusive, safe and affordable housing options and his advocacy to ensure no Mainer has to sleep outside.
The chamber also honored a long-time active member and contributor in this year's Imagine Portland awards.
Jim Cohen, a partner at Portland-based law firm Verrill and a former mayor of Portland, was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for his advocacy of policy priorities on behalf of the regional and statewide business communities.
Photo / Courtesy of Verrill
Jim Cohen
Over the past two decades, Cohen has served on numerous boards and committees, including two years as board chair of the Portland Regional Chamber and two years as board president of the Portland Community Chamber. Verrill noted in its own news release.
In addition to his board roles, Cohen is a longtime member of the chamber’s advocacy committee, served as host of the organization's Eggs and Issues program immediately before and during the pandemic, and has served on numerous ad hoc committees associated with policy issues of local and regional importance.
At Verrill, Cohen focuses on issues related to energy, telecommunication, public water systems and procurement.
In addition to the three individual awards, Portland's Northern Light Mercy Hospital received the Champion Award “for its commitment to foster workforce development and broaden access to health care services, affordable child care and other critical employee needs within the Portland business community.”
On a list of Maine’s largest hospitals, Northern Light Mercy is ranked No. 6 in the 2024 Mainebiz Book of Lists. The rankings were based on the number of licensed acute care beds at each facility.
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