Class of 1972 Summer 2019 Class Note

Anne Dearstyne Ketchen

Last June, Paul Soucy ’01G of Brewer was inducted into the Maine Sports Legends’ Hall of Honors. He and the other six inductees were chosen by three regional committees to recognize their accomplishments and contributions to youth and sports in Maine. Congratulations, Paul!

I was pleased to receive an email from John LaFlamme, some of which I’ll share:

“In 2013, following a 30-year layoff from the sport of powerlifting while I worked for the Bell System, I decided to research what was going on with the sport.”

He learned that both the USA Powerlifting Federation and the International Powerlifting Federation included age group championships.

“Since 2013 I have competed in nearly 20 powerlifting contests, all in the Masters 3 (age group 60-69) division.”

John’s recent medals in International Powerlifting Federation World Championships include 2015 Salo, Finland; 2017, Minsk, Belarus; and 2018, Calgary, Canada, as well as a gold medal in the squat with a lift of 424 lb. in 2018.

“I have been a member of the Masters 3 USA Powerlifting National Team since 2015, and I’ve earned a spot on the 2019 team that will compete in Helsingborg, Sweden, in June.

“In addition to the camaraderie provided by powerlifting, the sport has proven that we can maintain and even continue to gain strength into our late sixties with proper training, coaching, and diet.”

John can be reached at jlaf39@gmail.com. He lives in The Villages, FL 32163.