 New BA Student Center Scheduled to Open This Fall - The Class of 2011 will be the first to enjoy the BA Student Center located in an historic building that originally housed the North Bridgton Congregational Church. The Student Center, which will be named in honor of the BA Board of Trustees, will be a special place for students to get away, without having to leave campus. The Center will feature a sports-lounge atmosphere including a kitchen serving pizza and snacks, game tables, comfortable seating, and multiple large-screen televisions. In addition to generous leadership gifts by the Board of Trustees, multiple other alumni and friends helped make this project a reality. Bridgton plans to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony tentatively scheduled for Parents Weekend, October 8-10th. |
| Make a Bid with BA this Fall - Why do your holiday shopping anywhere else? This November, Bridgton Academy will be hosting our first-ever Bridgton Academy Online Holiday Auction. Help us make this event a success! Donations so far include sports tickets, sport memorabilia, gift baskets, and more. All proceeds of the online auction benefit the 2011 BA Annual Fund.
The Online Holiday Auction will run from November 28th through December 12th, with most items shipping in time for the holidays. We hope you all mark your calendars! Do you have something you'd like to donate for the Holiday Auction? Please contact Michelle Cross in the Development Office via email mcross@bridgtonacademy.org or phone (207) 647-3322, ext. 229 for more information. Thanks and happy shopping! |
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 Wolverine Athletics Are Underway! - With 140 athletes on campus for preseason, the fields have been very busy. There is plenty of excitement about the upcoming seasons with football, lacrosse, hockey, soccer, and baseball all working hard during preseason. New coach Alan Ashenfelter is looking forward to the soccer season starting and only has good things to say about the team. "The coaching staff is very excited by the high energy level and immediate team spirit displayed by the new squad. This positive attitude is a great sign for things to come."
Baseball Coach Aaron Izaryk had a similar attitude when asked about the upcoming season. "I think this year's baseball team has a chance to have a great season. With a mix of athleticism, strength and raw talent, our squad will play the game hard, practice the fundamentals and improve with every opportunity we have to step on the field. I think that our infield defense could be our biggest strength, followed closely by our will to win and desire to compete. The 2010 BA baseball team is a special group of players who will push each other every day, and push our program in the right direction."
The Wolverine schedule starts off this afternoon with a home baseball game at 4:00 p.m. against Southern Maine Community College. The soccer team will travel to Southern Maine Community College to play at 4:00 p.m. as well. The football team will begin their season with a home opener against Curry College at 1:00 p.m. on September 12th. On the same day the lacrosse team will travel to the University of Massachusetts to face their club team at 2:00 p.m. Golf will start off their season on the road traveling to Gould Academy to play at 2:30 p.m. on September 15th. |
| Additional New Staff Join BA - Bridgton Academy wrapped up their summer staffing with the appointment of several more faculty and administrative employees. Travis Dube, formerly a teacher at Mt. Ararat HS in Maine, has accepted BA's offer to serve as a Teacher, Res Hall Director, and Assistant Football Coach. Travis, a Bowdoin graduate and native of Lisbon Falls, ME, has been teaching History at Mt. Ararat HS in Topsham. He was also the Head Football Coach at Edward Little High School in Auburn and was an Assistant Baseball Coach at Bates College. Travis, his wife, Shannon, and their two boys have taken over Holt Hall as Res Hall Directors.
Chris Travis, BA Class of 2006, will be joining our staff fresh out of the University of Southern Maine as an Athletic Department Administration Intern. Chris will also be a Res Hall Assistant and will be an Assistant Hockey Coach. At USM, Chris was a four-year starter and captain for the Husky men's ice hockey squad as well as a member of the ECAC Men's East All-Conference team.
Orlando Patterson, recently graduated from Hobart William Smith (Geneva, NY), will join our staff as a Teacher, Res Hall Asst., and Asst. Football Coach. Orlando, from South Boston, attended Tabor Academy. He is a recent graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, where he earned a BA in Sociology with a minor in Africana Studies. While at Hobart, Orlando also lettered for four consecutive years on a team that also earned four consecutive trips to the NCAA Division III tournament. He also had the time to chair the social activities for the Kappa Sigma fraternity and work as an assistant strength and conditioning trainer at the college's strength training center.
Tucker Prudden brings a wealth of experience to his new roles at Bridgton Academy. Like Orlando, this native of Andover, MA is a Tabor Academy Seawolf, earning high school All American status there as a lacrosse player. Moving on to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, Tucker earned all-conference honors in the Great Western Lacrosse League and graduated in 2007 with a degree in Communications. Following his graduation, he had the opportunity to work as a Local Development Officer with the English Lacrosse Association for a year, working to grow and promote the sport in the UK. Upon his return to the US, Tucker took on an assistant coaching job at New England College and also worked toward his Master's in Education there, an honor he received in June of this year. This year, the versatile Mr. Prudden will teach two English composition sections and a section of the Nutrition elective; he will also help a number of lacrosse players navigate the waters of the College Counseling process.
Brock Armour has also been appointed as a Teacher, Res. Hall Assistant and Assistant Lacrosse Coach. Brock, who hails from metro Vancouver, British Columbia, is a recent graduate of Towson University and has spent this summer competing professionally in his home province in the sport of indoor "Box" Lacrosse.
Rich MacDonald, previously the Director of Student Activities at Emma Willard School (Troy, NY), has accepted BA's offer to become the next Dean of Residential Life and Students. Rich rose to the top of an outstanding candidate pool of more than 60 applicants, including a diverse group of five finalists who each visited campus for full day interviews. At Emma Willard School, Rich shared house parent duties with his wife, Nicole, (a teacher at the school) while planning on- and off-campus cultural enrichment activities. In addition to his three years as a leader at Emma Willard, Rich has 10+ years of coaching (football, basketball, track) at the middle school, high school, and college level. He also carries more than a decade of classroom experience in both traditional high school and middle school settings. Rich holds a B.S. in Social Science Education with a Minor in US History from Plymouth State University. He is currently working towards a Masters Degree in Leadership and Liberal Studies at Duquesne University.
Faye Roderick will be assuming the duties of BA Bookstore Manager this fall. Faye, a Lake Region native and LRHS grad, has significant experience with organization and managerial functions, both of which will hold her in good stead in the Bookstore.
Alison Vigneau will take on the position of Sport Information Director. Recently graduated from Gordon College with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Sports Studies, Alison has also starting work on her Masters of Sports Leadership this fall through Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies. Alison worked as a Sports Information Assistant at Union College as a freshman before she transferred to Gordon College for her sophomore year. While at Gordon, she continued to work as a Sports Information Assistant while balancing her academic commitments as well as her commitment to college field hockey. A native of Stowe, Vermont, Alison grew up in and around her family's youth group sports, education, and activity business, the Round Hearth at Stowe. In high school, she starred on and won multiple state titles as a member of the Stowe HS field hockey team as well as played in a State Championship game in Ice Hockey. |
| Dean of Faculty Makes Opening Remarks - Before school began this week, Fletcher Carr, Dean of Faculty, addressed the Class of 2011. Below are a few excerpts from his presentation.
Before we officially start the academic school year tomorrow, I wanted to be able to freeze this particular moment-to me, it is-other than graduation and the academic awards ceremony in January-my favorite moment of the year. I look out and see, personified in each of you, a term that has always interested me. That term is 'on the verge'-in old English, a verge was a ceremonial wooden staff that citizens held as they pledged loyalty to a king, queen or noble person. That staff was also used as a measurement device for determining distance and property layouts; in other words, it laid out boundaries. Even in modern British usage, it literally means a road bordering a destination. In America, we use 'verge' more figuratively, as a means to illustrate something about to happen, something we anticipate. A team can be 'on the verge' of a championship, a relationship (or a mind, for that matter!) can be 'on the verge' of unraveling... Either way, the term reflects a process of becoming. Right now, I see virtually all of you on the verge-on the verge of improving your academic habits, on the verge of becoming college-level athletes, on the verge of changing personal habits that have perhaps slowed your progress into young adulthood. You all have your own stories and reasons for being here at Bridgton, and this is the time of year, right before we start in earnest, that those reasons and the changes you would like to make are most clear to you-and, most importantly, your intentions are in their purest form-and that is why I love this moment. You are on the verge.
As you are well aware by now, there are multiple layers of support at Bridgton-those who use them best are the students who, as the year progresses, leave the verge behind; they, in fact, arrive at their destination. The goals that they have worked hard for and purposefully toward-improved grades, better self-discipline, college choices-begin to arrive as proof of sorts of the successful journey. Others, who have trouble clearing a path for themselves, remain 'on the verge' and, in a book that I read long ago, this term was central in one of the saddest descriptions of someone that I have ever read. The author, in discussing the story's protagonist, wrote "...he was a young man who lived always on the verge..." In other words, there was always a lot of talk, a lot of bravado, but rarely any meaningful action that pulled this character closer to any tangible achievement. Again, you are all on the verge...use this year to both locate and move toward that destination upon which you are now verging.
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 Local Alumni Gather for Lunch and Recall Years Ago - Continuing a longtime BA tradition, a number of older local alumni gathered for lunch this July at the Olde Mill Tavern in Harrison. The luncheon, co-hosted by alumna Norma Doody '42, was originally begun to offer BA graduates with a chance to get-together before many headed to Florida for the winter. Over thirty alumni gathered for this years lunch, sharing a delicious meal and fond memories. |
| Hockey Program Expands - Offers Second Team - Bridgton Academy has announced the creation of a second hockey program at the school for the upcoming year. This move follows the move by Bridgton Academy 4 years ago to elevate its original program to a "Junior Hockey" level, playing predominantly Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) and other similar clubs. That change of schedule was viewed as revolutionary a few years ago, leading other schools to consider how to follow Bridgton's lead as the Wolverines increased their level of competition and exposure for the program.
"The move to Juniors gave the program a significant boost. By so doing, we have seen an incredible jump in interest from student-athletes considering Bridgton Academy generally and our hockey program specifically. As such, we have researched ways to leverage that interest by supporting two distinct competitive teams: one that would continue to play a predominantly Junior schedule and a second team that would play a more traditional Prep School schedule with numerous college club team opposition sprinkled in. This really gives our student-athletes a chance to come in and play appropriate level hockey while benefiting from our rigorous academic program, built specifically for the PG student," said Grady Vigneau, Headmaster.
With the move to an additional team, the school has restructured its coaching staff. Head Coach, Jonathan Lounsbury '01, has been named Director of Hockey and will continue to serve as Head Coach of the Junior Team. Former Assistant Coach, Mike Meserve, has been named Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Prep Team. Chris Travis '06, has been brought on as an Athletic Department intern, also serving as an Assistant Coach to both programs.
"Bridgton has a strong and storied history with hockey. The addition of a second team celebrates that history and enables us to offer increased athletic opportunity for students who will most importantly benefit from all that Bridgton Academy offers on the academic side of the equation," said Lounsbury. |
 Victor Cruz '05 Becomes a Household Name - Just a month ago, most people who follow pro football had never heard of Victor Cruz. A 2005 BA graduate, Victor was a member of Coach Marcella's team, and had a great year on the BA football field. He went on to attend the University of Massachusetts, where, despite a PG year to prepare, he struggled to succeed in the classroom. Because of his lacking academics and resulting academic ineligibility, it took Victor three years to get back on track in the classroom, finally earning his chance on the gridiron as a college junior at the age of 21. It was during his senior year that Cruz made a name for himself at UMass, recording the single biggest game by a wide receiver in the school's history. He also completed his academic commitments, graduating with a degree in African-American History. Despite being scouted by several NFL personnel during his senior year, the New York Giants rookie camp was the only invitation extended to Victor. Working hard in rookie and training camp, he earned a place on the field during the Giants first preseason game. Cruz astounded Giants fans with an amazing one handed catch during the third quarter, sprinting 64 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. He continued to dominate the Jets defense, earning two more touchdowns and a total of 145 yards on the night. Cruz became the first Giants receiver since 1992 to score three touchdowns during a single game. Last week, Victor was one of two free agents that officially earned a spot of the New York Giants roster. Bridgton is certainly proud of Victor's hard work, and hope for his continued success as the preseason winds down. To check out some highlights from Victor's games, click here.
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 Back to Campus and New Notes on the Way - Are you missing out on alumni notes? In the next month or so, please look for the annoucement of an upgraded class notes webpage. Don't forget to send updates on your life since BA to the Alumni & Development Office! This summer has been a busy one for alumni visits. We have welcomed many of you back to campus, and enjoyed the opportunity to bring back old memories. Some of our campus visitors included: Bob McNulty '70, Paul Flahive '60, Michael Chaffin '96, Achille Belanger '87, Collis Brown '81, Kirk Douglas '89, Mike McGee '77, Christian Cardosa '86, Davis Ross '10, Greg O'Brien '94, along with others. If you are in the area, you are always welcome to come back to Bridgton! |
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Bridgton Academy Announces Trustee Emeriti Members - Bridgton Academy trustees commit time, work, finances, and passion to their jobs. These volunteers have a large amount of responsibility, making many decisions which guide the future of BA. Many trustees serve more than one term, maintaining their volunteer role for as many as eight years.
Retired trustees will now continue to be involved with Bridgton Academy through their appointment as Trustee Emeriti. While they will not hold officially voting power, the Emeriti will continue to offer their advice and counsel to the active Board of Trustees. Bridgton Academy is excited to announce the following individuals as our inaugural group of Trustee Emeriti and thank them for their dedicated service: Stephen Camuso '60, Mr. Bruce Chalmers, Ms. Cynthia Choate, The Hon. Susan M. Collins, Mr. John Gallant, Mr. Al Glover, Mr. Peter Hastings, Kraig Haynes '78, Jack Kelleher '68, Peter Marggraf '59, Dr. Helen Martikainen '35, Rod McGarry '57, Dr. Jim McNeil, David Petri '55, Tony Scibelli '62, Dennis Skorewicz, John Stabile '65, Al Symes '57, and Robert Teel '65. |
Class Reps Wanted - Are you wondering if there is an extra way you can help BA? Consider volunteering as a Class Rep. The main job of a Class Rep is to organize and communicate with their class. This year, we particularly would like to see Reps from the year's ending in 6's and 1's - as these classes will be celebrating milestone Reunions in 2011. Bridgton Academy needs the support of alumni - and there is no one better to appeal to fellow alumni then someone who has walked in the same shoes. If you want to work to rally your Class in support of Bridgton - whether to get them to attend an event, make a special gift to BA, or even just get back in touch with each other, please contact Jess Priola in the Development Office by email or call (207) 647-7657. |
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