In its first use of a new policy for naming school facilities, the School Board this week approved a request to name the baseball field at Cape Elizabeth Middle School for longtime supporter Rey Moulton; and, to name the conference room in the school library for guidance counselor Rick Madden.

Because the field is outside a school building, that request will also need Town Council approval.

Rey Moulton is the benefactor of the Moulton Scholar-Athlete scholarships, presented annually to three seniors who are outstanding athletes and students.

"CEHS lost a great friend last year when Rey passed away," wrote High School Principal Jeff Shedd in a letter to the superintendent. "I strongly urge the School Board to approve naming the Middle School baseball field in honor of this great school benefactor."

Moulton attended Cape Elizabeth High School in the 1950s, where he excelled as a student and as an athlete, despite having lost his left arm in an accident at age 5. The determination and persistence he showed on and off the field led to a successful business career. "When he became successful in business, Rey reached out to find ways to support the young people in Cape Elizabeth," Shedd said.

"Cape staff, Rey always said, afforded him equal opportunity and encouragement at a time when equal opportunity was not a legal mandate," his letter says.

Cape resident Jessie Timberlake was at the School Board's June 12 meeting to support naming the field for her late brother. "He always was very very grateful for what his Cape community had done for him," she said. "I think this would be an amazing way to honor Rey and to celebrate his life and to give something back to him and his family."

Athletic Director Keith Weatherbie remembers watching Rey Moulton play on the field in the '50s, when it was the only athletic field at what was then Cape Elizabeth High School.

"The present Middle School field was a second home for Rey. He spent countless hours practicing and playing games at the field," Weatherbie wrote in a letter to the superintendent. "He was an inspiration to everyone who saw him play."

"Durwood Holman (for whom the present High School baseball field is named) was his coach ... To the last game he watched in the early 2000s, Durwood still talked about Rey being one of the best athletes Cape Elizabeth ever had," Weatherbie wrote.

Moulton was also an initial contributor to the High School's lighted field, and gave generously to the Gull Crest fields and the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, said Timberlake. "He was just an amazing guy and contributed quietly, very quietly."

The new policy on naming school facilities, approved May 8, says that requests for facilities outside of a school building need approval by first the School Board, then the Town Council. The council is expected to consider the request next month.

In a similar action, the School Board June 12 gave final approval to a request to name the conference room in the Middle School library for guidance counselor Rick Madden.

Madden, a fixture in Cape Elizabeth schools since 1974, was key in helping the middle school evolve from a junior high to "a place centered on the lives and the development of 'tween-agers'," said Middle School Principal Steve Connolly.

Madden began his career in Cape Elizabeth as a social studies teacher at the High School. In 1975 he moved to what is now the Middle School. In 1989, he accepted a request to join the guidance department. "He was a constant champion of focusing on kids and was the backbone behind our advisory program," Connolly said. "While such features have come and gone in most schools, Rick helped us keep our eyes on the crucial balance between the stress of academics and the social/emotional wellbeing of adolescents," he said.

The library conference room has been the setting for the advisory program for the last 11 years, Connolly said. "Likely, no person has spent more time at CEMS coaching and helping our kids in our advisory setting than Rick Madden. Certainly, no one has spent more time working with kids in the library conference room than Rick. It is for these reasons that I respectfully request permission to name that space the Richard Madden Conference Room," he said.

Madden is on permanent medical leave and will retire at the end of the school year.

The School Board unanimously approved both requests for naming the facilities. Plans are to construct plaques at each place to inform future Capers about the individuals for whom the facility is named.