HOULTON, Maine — Houlton’s football program received another major award recently when senior Caleb Solomon was selected for the Silvernail Scholar-Athlete Award.
Solomon played wide receiver and linebacker for the Shires this past season and helped the team to a 3-1 record in the eight-man small school north division. Houlton earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but was beaten in the semifinals by eventual state champion Dexter in the semifinals.
The Silvernail Scholar-Athlete Award was established to reward people who are integral members of their team, outstanding students and involved in the community. The $5,000 scholarship will be fully granted upon completion of Solomon’s first semester of post-secondary education with a GPA of at least 3.0 or equivalent.
According to Shire football coach Jon Solomon, Caleb’s father, the Silvernail Scholar-Athlete Award was created by Andrew Silvernail, chairman, president and CEO at Madison Industries in Chicago, Illinois. He was once ranked fourth in the nation on Forbes CEO List.
Silvernail graduated from Bucksport High School in 1989, where he was a standout football player. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from Harvard Business School.
“It was pretty cool,” Caleb Solomon said when he learned of the award. “We were on our way back (to Houlton) from Boston for Thanksgiving. So that was a nice surprise.”
One student athlete from the Little Ten Conference is selected each year to receive the scholarship. Caleb Solomon is the first Shire to ever receive the award. He is hoping to attend the University of Maine at Orono next fall to pursue a degree in business.
