June 22, 2012--Local News
Medomak Graduate Rewarded For Decade-Old Deed
By Shlomit Auciello
Hours before Rebecca (Becca) Brow received her diploma at Medomak Valley High School, June 6, she was given another honor. A good deed she had done 10 years previous came back to reward her, when Craig Lee, of Flippers Market, came by her home to thank her and hand her the papers for a college savings account.
"When my daughter was around 8, in 2003, Flippers Market in South Waldoboro had been robbed," Kimberlee Brow said. "My sister and I had been talking about this robbery and what a bad deal went down and my daughter had $25 and she said 'I want to go to Flippers and give Craig and Lisa some reward money.' I said I don't know they'll accept it, but I'll take you."
Brow took her daughter to the store, where the young girl offered Craig and Linda Lee the money, to use as a reward for the capture of the person or persons who had robbed the store at gunpoint.
"Craig didn't want to take it," Brow said. "Rebecca insisted, and he took the money."
That could have been the end of the story, but Craig Lee had another idea.
"The store was robbed at gunpoint and the culprit never got caught and we lost quite a bit of money that day," Lee said. He said he did not know the Brows when mother and daughter came into the store a week after the incident. Lee said the emotional damage was harder on him and his family than the financial losses. He said he began to question human nature and whether people were good or not.
"When somebody holds you up at gunpoint it's hard, emotionally, to get beyond that'" he said. "We spent a lot of time wondering why it happened."
"I think Becca was 8 years old at the time," he said. "Basically, she gave us her life savings at the time. I thought that was pretty cool for someone that young. I tried to give it back, but her Mom said it was something she wanted to do. For someone like her to come in and in one small move wipe those emotions out...it meant a tremendous amount."
Because the gift, from someone so young, had helped bring him out of a very dark time, Lee decided to pay it forward, instead of putting the money into a reward or using it to get the store back on its feet.
"I had two children and had already started a 529 college investment plan, basically an educational IRA," Lee said. Using the experience he had from his own children's college savings, he opened a college account in Becca's name.
"I took her $25 and matched it each month - $50 a month until January of this year," he said. At the close of business, the day of Becca's graduation, the fund had slightly more than $6000 in it.
Becca Brow said she doesn't remember the good deed she did.
"I remember that they got robbed," she said. When Lee called and asked to come to the Brow's house before graduation, Becca's mother reminded her about the $25. "Then he came with this huge stack of papers and told me," she said. "I cried."
"I want to be a cook," the recent high school graduate said. "I'd like to own my own bakery someday." Brow works in the kitchen at Chase Point Assisted Living in Damariscotta and said she would like to attend the University of Maine at Augusta and take classes at the University College at Rockland, "because it's close to home."
"It's something that was pretty easy to do," Lee said. "It wasn't going to break the bank every month." He set the account up as an automatic withdrawal, occasionally changing the investments to produce a higher yield at the start and to be more conservative as the total in the account got larger.
He said he has kept track of the Brow family.
"As children get older you don't see them as much." he said. "She's a good kid. She always has been. She looks out for her family, has a good work ethic and is a very polished young lady."
When he handed Brow the paperwork for her college account, it was worth $6019.
"We're all blown away," Kimberlee Brow said. "That's a lot of money. I am overwhelmed with pride and love for my daughter."
By Shlomit Auciello
Hours before Rebecca (Becca) Brow received her diploma at Medomak Valley High School, June 6, she was given another honor. A good deed she had done 10 years previous came back to reward her, when Craig Lee, of Flippers Market, came by her home to thank her and hand her the papers for a college savings account.
"When my daughter was around 8, in 2003, Flippers Market in South Waldoboro had been robbed," Kimberlee Brow said. "My sister and I had been talking about this robbery and what a bad deal went down and my daughter had $25 and she said 'I want to go to Flippers and give Craig and Lisa some reward money.' I said I don't know they'll accept it, but I'll take you."
Brow took her daughter to the store, where the young girl offered Craig and Linda Lee the money, to use as a reward for the capture of the person or persons who had robbed the store at gunpoint.
"Craig didn't want to take it," Brow said. "Rebecca insisted, and he took the money."
That could have been the end of the story, but Craig Lee had another idea.
"The store was robbed at gunpoint and the culprit never got caught and we lost quite a bit of money that day," Lee said. He said he did not know the Brows when mother and daughter came into the store a week after the incident. Lee said the emotional damage was harder on him and his family than the financial losses. He said he began to question human nature and whether people were good or not.
"When somebody holds you up at gunpoint it's hard, emotionally, to get beyond that'" he said. "We spent a lot of time wondering why it happened."
"I think Becca was 8 years old at the time," he said. "Basically, she gave us her life savings at the time. I thought that was pretty cool for someone that young. I tried to give it back, but her Mom said it was something she wanted to do. For someone like her to come in and in one small move wipe those emotions out...it meant a tremendous amount."
Because the gift, from someone so young, had helped bring him out of a very dark time, Lee decided to pay it forward, instead of putting the money into a reward or using it to get the store back on its feet.
"I had two children and had already started a 529 college investment plan, basically an educational IRA," Lee said. Using the experience he had from his own children's college savings, he opened a college account in Becca's name.
"I took her $25 and matched it each month - $50 a month until January of this year," he said. At the close of business, the day of Becca's graduation, the fund had slightly more than $6000 in it.
Becca Brow said she doesn't remember the good deed she did.
"I remember that they got robbed," she said. When Lee called and asked to come to the Brow's house before graduation, Becca's mother reminded her about the $25. "Then he came with this huge stack of papers and told me," she said. "I cried."
"I want to be a cook," the recent high school graduate said. "I'd like to own my own bakery someday." Brow works in the kitchen at Chase Point Assisted Living in Damariscotta and said she would like to attend the University of Maine at Augusta and take classes at the University College at Rockland, "because it's close to home."
"It's something that was pretty easy to do," Lee said. "It wasn't going to break the bank every month." He set the account up as an automatic withdrawal, occasionally changing the investments to produce a higher yield at the start and to be more conservative as the total in the account got larger.
He said he has kept track of the Brow family.
"As children get older you don't see them as much." he said. "She's a good kid. She always has been. She looks out for her family, has a good work ethic and is a very polished young lady."
When he handed Brow the paperwork for her college account, it was worth $6019.
"We're all blown away," Kimberlee Brow said. "That's a lot of money. I am overwhelmed with pride and love for my daughter."
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:17 AM
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