Local sports figures inducted into Legends Hall

Mike Roy, left, and Bethany LaFountain.

by Mark Huard

Mike Roy, of Waterville, and Bethany LaFountain, of Winslow, are two of seven 2022 inductees into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors. In addition, seven student athletes, including Brooke McKenney, of Madison Memorial High School, and Emily Rhodes, of Lawrence High School , in Fairfield, are this year’s selections. The Legends organization was founded in the 1990s honoring individuals who have contributed to athletics to provide additional support to Maine high school graduates who plan to continue their education and participation in athletics.

Mike is a graduate of Waterville High and Colby College who left for Georgia and returned four and a half months later via the Appalachian Trail. In 1978 he began a municipal career as the Community Development Director for the Town of Fairfield. He became town manager for the towns of Vassalboro, Oakland and Waterville, where he became the first city manager for over 16 years until he retired in 2021.

Married to Schari Roy with two adult children and two grandchildren, he has served in Rotary Club for 34 years, High Hope, Central Maine Youth hockey, United Way, Friends of Quarry Road and the Central Maine Growth Council. He served as president of the Maine Municipal Association. In 1964, Waterville sent a Pee Wee hockey team to the national tournament in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and a Little League team to the regionals in New Hampshire. There were only two players that were on both teams, Mike and the late Jim Rancourt.

In a letter of support for Mike’s candidacy, John Cullen wrote “I have known Mike for 60 years, first as an opponent in Pee Wee Hockey and then as a teammate and friend because of our playing days. He was a three-sport standout at Waterville High School, graduating in the class of 1970. He was one of only four freshmen to make the varsity team his freshman year. In baseball, again Mike was the leader of the team as the ace of the staff. He was a star player in every sport and every season he played. Mike Roy was a leader both on and off the field and his devotion to Waterville is second to none.”

Bethany is the first woman to coach varsity boy’s baseball at Winslow High School. She was a pitcher for the 2004 state champion Winslow softball team. Having played 16 years of softball year ’round, she’s crossed over to a different diamond. “There’s a lot of overlap between softball and baseball. I’m really going to focus with this group with starting back to the basics by breaking down fundamentals within the program. We’re starting from scratch by focusing on pitching and defense all the way,” she says. LaFountain is Winslow’s fourth coach in as many seasons to try to tackle a rebuilding effort. Russell Mercier, varsity baseball coach at Lawrence High School worked with Beth coaching the Central Maine Senior Legion baseball team. He says, “From the beginning of the season, it was clear to me that Beth stood out with her attention to detail, positive attitude, and desire to learn and compete at the highest level.” She conducted various clinics for youth in baseball and softball and even helped work on Winslow baseball and softball fields. Beth’s grandfather, Wally Lafountain, coached the Winslow High football team and coached and officiated high school wrestling. She has three sons, Ben, Tyler and David Fisher. The two Central Mainers will have their names added to a plaque at the Alfond Youth Center honoring all inductees beginning with the selection of Harold Alfond.

Other Hall of Honors inductees from Northern Maine are John Plourde, Monica Bearden and Ron Ericson and, from Eastern Maine, Tracie Martin and John “Jack” Cashman.

Emily is a resident of Clinton. She was captain of the varsity soccer team in both her sophomore and senior years, participated in Lawrence indoor soccer and was a member of the Central Maine Premiere Soccer Club. President of the National Honor Society, she ranked fifth in her senior class. Currently employed at Natanis Golf Course, in Vassalboro, where she serves in the snack bar and on the course, she is preparing for a career in healthcare and has been accepted at the University of New England in the Medical Biology pre-physician assistant program. Emily says she wants compassion for others to not only be the focus for herself, but also the focus for others around her. She is the daughter of Jody and Anthony Rhodes.

Brooke is a four-year varsity awards recipient in softball at Madison Memorial High School, Class C champions in 2019. She was captain of the team in her junior and senior years. She was also a varsity basketball player her sophomore, junior and senior years, captain of that team, as well as the golf team as a junior. She was also named Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year and was a first team conference All Star as a freshman and as a junior. Graduating second in her class, she was also a National Honor Society member and high honor roll student. The daughter of Daniel and Laurie McKenney, Brooke says she comes from a family of medical professionals. Christopher LeBlanc, Principal, AD and head softball coach says, “I look forward to her educational and athletic growth as she pursues her future endeavors.” Heath Cowan, Madison golf coach and head women’s basektball coach at the University of Maine at Augusta says, “Brooke puts the same amount of time in the classroom as she does on the field. She ranks second in her class with an amazing 98.8 GPA.”