City police served Portland Processing and Distribution Center Clerk Scott Adams of Scarborough, president of American Postal Workers Union Local 458, with an arrest warrant in the lobby of the Portland Post Office one morning in late June. An officer handcuffed Adams, who was whisked away to a waiting police cruiser, in front of about a dozen witnesses. He was driven downtown, where he was arraigned before a judge, taken for mug shots and eventually released after posting bail.

Scott Adams under arrest? Was it for a legal violation? Phantom misdeeds? Alleged infractions?

No way. Lobby customers and coworkers at the Main Post Office on Forest Avenue were taken aback at the sight of a uniformed police officer placing handcuffs on Scott, but their fears were allayed when the officer held up a sign reading “another volunteer locked up for muscular dystrophy.”

Scott joined dozens of volunteers who were charged with having a big heart and “locked up” for an hour or more at Portland’s Stadium Restaurant in the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) annual fundraising and publicity campaign. Volunteers raised “bail” money for muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles. Scott, who raised more than $700, was congratulated and cheered by MDA staff and volunteers.

“I am grateful to have been able to help and enjoyed it very much,” Scott said. “I believe that we are not here for ourselves, but for others, and we must be willing to serve one another in whatever capacity that we are able. My involvement with MDA pales in comparison to the time and effort other Maine employees give in their communities, jobs, churches, and homes.”

Scott Adams of Scarborough.

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