The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Alumni Board of Directors announced this week that an entrepreneur and owner of a local design firm has been named the recipient of its 2010 Distinguished Recent Alumni Award.

Craig Cormier, who serves as the editor-in-chief of Our Maine Street magazine and as the co-owner of design firm c3 creative, will be presented with the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award during the University Day luncheon at Noon on Wednesday, April 14 in the Campus Center.

Cormier, who hails from Fort Fairfield and graduated from Fort Fairfield High School in 2002, graduated magna cum laude from the University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Management Information Systems. His dedication to excellence has shown through in all of his achievements. As a student, Cormier was very involved in campus life, serving as a resident assistant at UMPI from 2003-2006. He also was involved in Student Senate and the student activities board during his time at the University.

Dr. Kim Sebold, who nominated Cormier for the honor, cited Cormier’s talents and willingness to work on a major local history project – with Dr. Richard Graves to put together the book Forgotten Times: Presque Isle’s First 150 Years – as an instrumental force in the development of UMPI’s Local History minor program.

“Craig decided to keep his talents in Aroostook County by coming to UMPI,” Sebold said in nominating Cormier. “Once at UMPI, he became involved with the campus community and took advantage of every opportunity offered to him. He continues to do this in his everyday life and is a great representative of what can be accomplished with talent, initiative and an UMPI education.”

After earning his degree at UMPI, Cormier established his own graphic design business in his hometown of Fort Fairfield. Through his business, he published, designed, printed, and consulted with Dr. Graves on his second book Forgotten Times: A Walk Through History. Other major projects he has undertaken through his business include: preparing the reprint of the 1904 Fort Fairfield town registry, creating the look of the Fort Fairfield 150th anniversary celebration, designing and printing the Fort Fairfield 150th anniversary celebration book titled Fort Fairfield: It’s Time to Tell Our Stories, designing and printing Portage Lake’s centennial book project, and designing and printing Caribou: Through the Ages for the Jefferson Cary Foundation.

As editor-in-chief of Our Maine Street magazine, Cormier has established a quarterly magazine that, in his own words, serves Aroostook County just as the magazine DownEast serves the populations and towns of the downstate area.

Along with his design work, Cormier currently serves as a community outreach coordinator and project assistant with the Power of Prevention Program, part of Aroostook’s Northern Region Healthy Maine Partnership.

Cormier also is very involved in community service. He is a board member with the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, an event coordinator and volunteer for the Maine Potato Blossom Festival Committee, and an active member of the Frontier Heritage Society of Fort Fairfield.

His achievements are what prompted the Alumni Board of Directors to honor Cormier with this year’s recent alumni award.

“Since graduating from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Craig has exemplified the goals and ideals that higher education seeks to instill in all those who choose its path,” Keith Madore, Director of Alumni Relations, said. “Craig has made some excellent achievements in just a few short years as a local businessman and, if the past is any indication of the future, Aroostook County and the State of Maine will be well served by him for years to come. The University is proud to call Craig one of our own.”

The Distinguished Recent Alumni Award is given to a graduate who has been out of college between 2-12 years and has distinguished himself or herself in his or her career or service to community. Past honorees include Scott Boucher ’00, Andrew Murphy ’94, Bryan Thompson ’03, Erika Valtinson ’05, and Neal Labrie ‘97. This is the fifth time the award will be presented during University Day, an event that heightens student awareness of the work being done by peers and how that work applies to service and the professional life of a community.