2022 Citizen of the Year: Kevin Fahrman
On Thursday, June 22, the Town of Falmouth held its annual Municipal Recognition Ceremony to acknowledge the work of volunteers who serve on Town boards and committees and to thank them for their service to the community. The Town of Falmouth relies on several volunteer boards and committees to assist and advise the Falmouth Town Council and staff in carrying out the Council work plan each year. Approximately 125 individuals volunteer to serve on these boards, contributing hundreds of hours of work each year.
In addition to recognizing the efforts of these volunteers, Town Councilor Tommy Johnson presented Falmouth's 2022 Citizen of the Year Award posthumously to Kevin Fahrman affectionately known in the Greater Portland area as The Valentine’s Day Bandit. The Citizen of the Year award, established in 1964, acknowledges exceptional contribution to the community and positive examples of citizenship.
Fahrman moved to Falmouth in 2002. Born in Port Jefferson, New York, he later moved to Danbury, Connecticut where he graduated from high school. He came to Maine to study forestry at the University of Maine in Orono. His sense of adventure and creativity eventually led him to pursue his interest in art. He moved to Portland in 1977 where he met his wife, the mother of two children. Together they welcomed a third child. The couple relocated to Falmouth to provide their children with a childhood similar to his own, in a close-knit neighborhood.
Throughout his life, and especially in Falmouth, Fahrman was known for spreading kindness and offering assistance to his neighbors. One of his greatest passions was Sailmaine, a nonprofit organization that supports sailing in Maine at the community level. He made it his mission to provide parents with images of their children out on the water, images they often wouldn’t be able to capture themselves. “These acts of kindness touched a great many families in Falmouth, but his reach went even beyond his own neighborhood and beyond our community, to touch tens of thousands throughout Greater Portland,” said Johnson, upon presenting the award. For four decades, every February 14th, Fahrman anonymously plastered storefronts and business windows with red hearts, carrying out a tradition begun in his early years as a Portland resident. His secret mission grew more elaborate over the years. Large hearts appeared at Fort Gorges in Portland Harbor, over the entrance of the Portland Library, and on the sides of multi-story buildings.
Fahrman passed away in April 2023. His wife, Patti Urban, along with his children and family friends, accepted the award on Kevin’s behalf. “Kevin was a selfless, loyal, and hilarious force in every community he served and will be greatly missed by everyone who was lucky enough to be touched by his warmth,” said Johnson.
To learn more about the Citizen of the Year award visit: https://www.falmouthme.org/town-council-town-manager/pages/citizen-of-the-year-2