Maine is this year's award winner for membership growth. They have added new teams in the hundreds this year.

   Association Director Fern Brown believes the value of Odyssey is indescribable, "I cannot tell you how many students have been transformed by the experience of being part of this remarkable program. For us, extending the benefits of Odyssey to more students is imperative, especially in light of current educational initiatives that can sometimes leave creative kids without adequate outlets."

   Fern credits these inspired participants for helping to grow the program, "We offer an awareness session to those who ask about Odyssey, and send a current or former team member along for it -- they are the best ambassadors!"

   She believes being diligent about following up on leads from current and past years is important as well, "We continue to offer our support after the initial contact and pride ourselves on being great communicators."

   Maintaining good communication with current and past interested parties has led to a 36% increase in membership growth for this program year and a 70% growth from the previous year.

   "If I ask someone who taught them the Pythagorean theorem, they might not know, but the Odyssey 'alums' always tell you the name of their problem, the character they portrayed, and what Odyssey meant to them. We attribute this growth to parents and teachers who now want to share their treasured Odyssey memories with their kids or students."

   Fern, co-AD Elise Copeland, and the Maine board have worked hard to ensure that the association maintains high standards in growing the program, "Winning this award is validation of the efforts made over the past 12 years. We started with a handful of people committed to keeping Odyssey in Maine; their passion has resulted in our becoming the largest creative problem- solving program in the state. Being Max Mansfield Award winners puts us in the company of other successful recipients, all of whom exemplify teamwork at its finest."

   Creative Competitions, Inc. created this award in honor of Max Mansfield and rewards membership growth. Max will always be remembered as someone who selflessly volunteered for Odyssey so that as many people as possible could experience creative problem solving. This award is CCI's way to honor his years of dedication and hard work as well as all Odyssey associations attempting to do the same. Max would also be proud that Maine is still growing, he owned a cabin in Maine for many years.