Three to be enshrined into Owl athletic hall

11 years ago

Three to be enshrined into Owl athletic hall

    PRESQUE ISLE — Three alumni of the University of Maine at Presque Isle will be inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony Saturday evening at the Campus Center. Jocelyn “Jo” Dill (Class of 1973), Paul Bouchard (1975) and Stephanie (Thurlow) Dubay (2002) are this year’s honorees.

   SP-umpihalldill-dcx-arsh-37 Dill is the coordinator of the Maine Senior Games, organizing athletic events for people age 50 and over. The games present an opportunity to participate in 17 different athletic competitions. Last year’s event included a record 601 athletes from Maine and surrounding states.
    “Her organizational skills have earned her a reputation for the “best” track and field senior games, a compliment I heard at several other games throughout New England,” said Nancy Kneeland, a former student of Dill who now participates in the Maine Senior Games. “She creates an atmosphere of warmth and welcome to all.”
     Dill served as the first executive director of the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, a position she held from 1996-2009.
    “Jo gave her heart and soul and countless hours to the organization. She was a visionary for MAHPERD,” said Deb Smith, a friend and Maine Senior Games board member. 
   As a student at UMPI, Dill was heavily involved in intramurals because since Title IX had not yet passed, there were no varsity sports for women.
    She was a K-12 health and physical education teacher at Biddeford Junior High School, Kennebunk High School and Kennebunk elementary schools for a number of years before becoming an adjunct faculty member for a period of time at the University of Southern Maine.
    “I have taught K-12, a bit of college and now work with seniors…I feel like I have come full circle,” Dill said. “Lucky me, how many folks get that chance?”
    In 1986, Dill initiated a pilot program called “Stretch Beyond” and later became the director of the Stretch Beyond/Healthy Kids Club, which is still an afterschool program offered in Kennebunk schools.
    “She changed the way physical education was approached at the high school level for women by introducing a broad variety of sports and emphasizing team competition and group cooperation,” Kneeland added. “Not only did she develop athletic skills in her students, but also instilled confidence in all, regardless of their capabilities in athletics. Intertwined in her responsibility of teaching was an incredible sense of humor, which I’m sure she used to connect with each and every student.”
    Throughout her career, Dill has received many awards, but the “Time, Feeling and Focus Award” was the most special as it was a national award from the American Heart Association.
  Dill, who resides in Lyman, still participates in several sports, with her favorite being basketball.

 

 SP-umpihallbouchard-dcx-arsh-37   Bouchard was a four-year starter for the Owl basketball team, averaging 19 points per game as captain his senior year. He graduated as UMPI’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,106 career points. He was named to several all-tournament teams and was selected as MVP of the UM-Machias Invitational in 1972.
    Bouchard was part of the Northeast College Conference championship team in 1974, with his team going on to finish as runners-up in the NAIA District 32 championship tournament.
    “Paul was a dedicated teammate, smooth-as-silk shooter, a winner and a great guy,” said former teammate Chuck Underwood.
    For the first few years after graduating from UMPI, Bouchard served as a physical education teacher. He became a varsity coach for boys’ basketball and soccer at Machias Memorial High School, where he also held the position of athletic director.
    In the fall of 1978, Bouchard returned to UMPI to work with the Maine Education Talent Search Program and he became the Director of Residential Life in 1979. After earning his Master of Education degree from the University of Maine in 1981, he left Aroostook County a year later and spent the next 20 years in the guidance department at Old Town High School, serving initially as a guidance counselor and then as the guidance director. He retired in 2011 after spending his final nine working years as a guidance counselor at Bangor High School.
    “During his tenure at Old Town, he demonstrated time and again, leadership, loyalty and a great work ethic – all qualities learned and developed as a high school and college student-athlete,” said one of his colleagues, former assistant principal Lionel Bishop.     Bouchard was a well-respected basketball official from 1982-1996, working several Eastern Maine and state championship games.
    “A standout feature that he brought to an officiating assignment was an appreciation of the time and effort devoted by players and coaches in preparing for a game,” said Peter Webb, Maine’s basketball commissioner. “He truly believed that he owed his very best effort to serve the participants and the game.”
    Bouchard, who resides in Old Town, now serves as a substitute teacher and is also an avid golfer. He and his wife, Jane (also a member of the UMPI Class of 1975) look forward to wintering in Florida upon Jane’s approaching retirement.
   

 

 SP-umpihalldubay-dcx-arsh-37 Dubay was a four-year soccer and basketball player at UMPI and also played one year of softball. She served as captain in both soccer and basketball her junior and senior seasons and picked up many awards along the way, including All-Maine Athletic Conference second team honors in both sports as a senior. She was named UMPI’s Most Inspirational Player in both soccer and basketball her senior year.
    Prior to coming to UMPI, Dubay excelled in athletics at Lee Academy and her high school soccer coach, Randy Harris, said she was the consummate team player.
    “The intangibles that made her a great teammate and role model is what I remember and appreciate the most,” Harris said. “Team always came first and foremost. Stephanie never concerned herself with individual stats or achievements, instead focusing on team goals and team success. Her leadership abilities, unselfishness and talent make her an outstanding teammate, a coach’s ideal player and a fan favorite.”
    Her basketball coach at Lee, Ronald Weatherbee, echoed Harris’s feelings.
    “She was very skilled, but her major emphasis was always team,” Weatherbee said. “She was always supportive of the teammates before, during and after practices and games.
    “She has now carried her skills that she brought to the court, into her education career as she continues to give to the youth of the area, often as a volunteer, with sports clinics, nutrition and exercise tips and kayaking to name a few. Steph is a great role model and well deserving of this honor,” he added.
    Dubay coached the girls’ varsity soccer team at her alma mater, winning a state title in 2006 and an Eastern Maine title the following year. She was named Penobscot Valley Conference coach of the year both seasons and was also named NSCAA Private/Small Schools coach of the year.
    She now coaches girls’ soccer and basketball at Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln, where she has served as a health and physical education teacher since 2006.
    Dubay still competes in co-ed soccer, volleyball and softball leagues. She is a personal trainer who also enjoys hiking and kayaking. She and her husband, Eric, reside in Lincoln with their dog, Montana, and cat, Shankie.
    Saturday’s reception begins at 5 p.m. and the dinner at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $16 per person and more information is available by contacting Connie Levesque through the UMPI athletic department at 768-9506.