Sea-Vu Campground is proud to announce that on November 13, 2014, owner Elaine Talevi was named  “Entrepreneur of the Year” by York County Community College at their 10th Annual Award Ceremony held at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunk, Me.The criteria for the award included:
We are all so very proud of Elaine and wanted to share the nomination letter with everyone:Elaine and her husband Dave were life long residents of Naugatuck, Ct. when they purchased Sea-Vu Campground in 1972. At the time, Sea-Vu consisted of about 20 camp sites, some cottages and an old white farmhouse on Rte 1. Through the years Dave and Elaine expanded the campground business until it became what it is today, a 220+ site campground that is widely known and highly regarded by the thousands of campers who return each year. Each year we get visitors from throughout New England and the rest of the country as well as visitors from abroad who are touring the United States in a camping vehicle. Tragically, on July 2, 2010, Dave passed away during the night. This is the height of the tourist season here in Maine and Elaine had to step up to the plate and assume the sole leadership role of the business while dealing with her own terrible sense of loss. Duties that had been commonly shared by she and the love of her life, now had to be tackled alone. There were many responsibilities that she and Dave had discussed, but that he had always taken care of. Elaine had to learn and absorb many of the details that had been Dave’s responsibilities before as well as continue to carry out her own duties. Out of this loss was born the David F. Talevi Foundation. Elaine established the Foundation as a tribute to Dave who always had a sense of duty to give back to the community of which he was a part. Over the years, Sea-Vu had done fund raising as part of their Labor Day festivities and had contributed the money to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Now the monies that are raised for the Foundation are channeled to organizations like the Maine Chapter of the American Heart Association, Maine Chapter of American Cancer Society and the Center for Grieving Children, to name a few. In addition to this the Foundation also funds a “Happy Camper” Scholarship to a local graduating student and three “like” scholarships to our seasonal campers’ graduating children. In 2013 over $20,000 was given back to the community in various donations. In addition to her role managing the operations of Sea-Vu, Elaine also teaches aerobics. During the summer months she holds class every day from Monday through Friday for her campers, during the school year she continues to run her other business, Body Dynamics, teaching aerobics for the Cape Elizabeth School District. Elaine has succeeded, “against all odds” to continue to grow the business and establish the David F. Talevi Foundation that is so successful in giving back to the community. She is a tireless leader who epitomizes a “can do” attitude. As a member of her staff I can tell you that we are all inspired by Elaine and the work that the Foundation that she created does. We all strive to be better people because of the example that she sets. |
