CARIBOU — The annual Aroostook League scholar-athlete banquet took place March 14 at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center.
A senior boy and a girl from each of the 17 Aroostook League schools were selected by their school and invited to attend.
They were as follows: Ashland, Tyler Levesque and Shea Craig; Caribou, Dean Walker and Kelsie Espling; Central Aroostook, Steven Decker and Sarah Grass; Easton, Jared Hafford and Carla Halvorson; Fort Fairfield, Kyle Doody and Veronica Plourde; Fort Kent, Nicholas Levesque and Alexis Desjardins; Greater Houlton Christian Academy, Caleb Lincoln and Olivia Lord; Hodgdon, Nick Lunn and Lacie McQuarrie; and Houlton, Brandon Ward and Rebekah Holmes.
Also, Katahdin, Lucas Anderson and Makayla Patterson; Limestone-MSSM, Brandon Thompson and Daniele Pelkey; Madawaska, Aaron Thibeault and Kelly Dugal; Presque Isle, Corey Willette and Amanda Bennett; Southern Aroostook, Mason Caron and Kristen Tarr; Van Buren, Marc LaJoie and Chantal Rioux; Washburn, Nick Bragg and Olivia Doody; and Wisdom, Nathan Oakes and Angie Rossignol.
A drawing for five $400 scholarships took place, and the winners were Espling, Halvorson, Levesque, Patterson and Thompson.
Mike Chasse, a 2000 graduate of Presque Isle High School and his class salutatorian, was the guest speaker and spoke about setting a goal for yourself and pursuing your life dreams.
Chasse participated in three sports for the Wildcats, and as a track and field athlete set an Aroostook County record in the hurdles. Chasse went on to attain a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Maine, worked in his field for a couple years and then decided to follow his dream of working in the ski industry. He sent out letters to many different companies and did not get any responses until Doppelmayr, the largest ski ropeway manufacturer in the world, offered him a position in Salt Lake City.
While in Utah, Chasse suffered a life-changing skiing accident and has since relocated to Aroostook County. He lives with his service dog, Caleb, has a web site and is instrumental in leading the effort to build a new recreation center in Presque Isle.
