SKOWHEGAN – Mike Marston will be in the spotlight Saturday, coaching the Skowhegan Area High School football team in the Class A state championship game against Bonny Eagle of Standish.

Thousands of fans will watch his every coaching move from the stands at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, where the game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. opening kickoff. Thousands more will watch on television as Skowhegan seeks to win its first state title since 1989.

“I’ve always loved football, I’ve loved it since I was a little kid,” said Marston. “I love the fact that everyone is working together, the camaraderie of it. It’s really a special game.”

But while the 54-year-old Marston has been an accomplished coach for 28 years, including stints at Skowhegan, Messalonskee High School of Oakland and Colby College in Waterville, it’s his work far removed from that spotlight that perhaps defies the stereotype of the super-aggressive football mentality and reflects on his personal priorities not only during this season of giving, but throughout the year.

For 18 years Marston has been active with the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter in Waterville, initially as a volunteer, later as a member and co-chair of its board of directors, and currently as executive director.

“He’s compassionate, he’s caring, and he’s probably the most empathetic person I’ve ever met,” said Sue Roy, Marston’s predecessor as the shelter’s executive director. “He was just the perfect fit. He’s great working with the homeless community, which isn’t always easy. He’s humble, and he would give you the shirt off his back. That’s just the way he is.”

That compassion doesn’t stop at the shelter’s doors. Marston serves as a volunteer coach each summer for the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic, a high school football all-star game that has raised thousands of dollars for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

And since 1990, Marston and Edward “Bud” King have been instrumental in organizing a public Thanksgiving dinner each year in his hometown of Oakland. This year’s dinner, scheduled between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. next Thursday, is likely to serve as many as 900 meals.

“I’m no different than anybody else,” said Marston. “There are a lot more people who volunteer than you might think. There are a lot of great people out there who enjoy helping others.”

A King’s guidance

Marston’s benevolent roots were forged early in life, influenced by his parents’ generosity as well as that of King, who first came in contact with the family at age 10 when he went to work at a pharmacy operated by Marston’s grandfather.

King went on to run a successful grocery store in Oakland, and his own generosity became the stuff of local legend.

“I learned what I learned growing up, and from seeing people like Bud King,” said Marston. “Around Thanksgiving he’d always give out food baskets, and he’d always have candy for the kids on Easter.”

Those memories lingered with Marston, who soon after becoming an industrial arts teacher and coach in his hometown a few years later grew increasingly interested in helping others.

“We used to do a lot of things,” said King, now 85. “We’d have an Easter egg hunt, and we’d take a dozen Easter baskets and put them around town where we knew kids lived. There were clothes drives, and we’d take Special Olympians to Sugarloaf and my daughter would be a chaperone.

“I think some of that rubbed off on him.”

When an annual Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by King and his wife of nearly 65 years, Josephine, outgrew its previous location in a local church 18 years ago, Marston joined the cause, seeing it not only as a chance to give back to the community but also an opportunity to introduce his students to public service.

The dinner was moved to Messalonskee High, and originally became a senior class project.

“The first year we served 50 or 60 people,” said King, “but it kept growing, and a couple of years ago someone figured out that we’d served 18,000 meals since we started.”

It was around the same time when Marston read about the fledgling Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, which was founded in 1990 by the Interfaith Council but was struggling through its infancy.

“I was interested in what they were doing, so I called them up,” Marston said. “I told them I didn’t know what I could do, but that I wanted to help out.”

Much as he involved students in organizing Oakland’s Thanksgiving dinner as a means of practically applying concepts learned in the classroom, he took a similar approach toward his involvement with the shelter.

Working in concert with others such as Gary Sullivan of the former Scott Paper Co. and Doug Cutchin of the Sheridan Corp., Marston volunteered for a number of improvement projects at the shelter. In 1994, after the shelter experienced an increase in homeless families needing help, Marston and his industrial arts students helped construct two new family units at the facility.

“I just became passionate about it, I really cared about the place,” said Marston. “I became a long-term volunteer like a lot of other volunteers who work there and do great things.”

Marston’s relationship with the shelter continued for more than a decade with his volunteer efforts and work on the board, but when he retired from education about two years ago, timing and opportunity led to an even larger role.

Roy, who had worked at the shelter for 10 years and as its executive director for six years, was leaving to take a new job, and in January 2007 Marston became her replacement.

“I was the saddest person to see her go,” said Marston. “I just felt like I was called upon to do this, so I asked to do it.”

Learning lessons, helping others

Today the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, located at 28 Ticonic St., includes a men’s dormitory, a women’s dormitory and the two family units.

The 18-bed facility serves about 450 adults and 150 children each year, with an average stay of 14 days. The shelter also serves an average of 12,000 meals per year.

In addition, it provides a homeless prevention program with a resource specialist charged with helping people who use the shelter get back on their feet.

“We’re seeing more and more families that are struggling,” said Marston. “The economy is in rough shape. People who have lost a job might get another job but it just doesn’t pay the same, and expenses are pretty high.

“We’ve also lost so many jobs in the area that when a family loses a job sometimes the extended family has already been affected by job loss to they can’t help out as much as they might have in the past.”

Marston also continues to give the next generation of teens a glimpse into the realities of today’s world through public service.

Just last month, about 40 Skowhegan football players helped with a fundraising dinner for the shelter held at St. Mark’s Church in Waterville.

The Indians had suffered their only loss of the season the night before, but hours later disappointment was replaced by duty.

“Everyone was pretty down about the game,” Marston said, “but the next morning 15 kids were signed up to peel potatoes, and when I showed up at the church there were 15 kids there peeling potatoes.

“You learn from something like that how awesome young people are today, how amazing they really are. I have a lot of faith in young people, I really do.”

As for the young people Marston touches, they understand both his message and his means.

“He’s a good person all around who loves helping other people, less fortunate people,” said Skowhegan senior running back and linebacker Cody Vigue. “If he can help somebody he will, and by having us help other people, he’s like a role model in showing us what good people can do.”

And perhaps that’s Marston’s greatest educational contribution.

“Working at the shelter and working with the people there, you realize that while football is a great opportunity, this is also a great opportunity for kids to learn,” he said. “Because in the grand scheme of things there are so many people worse off that doing things like this keeps things in perspective.”

But forgive Marston, his players and all those who follow Skowhegan football if perspective gives way to passion for a few hours Saturday evening, when the Indians will be attempting to win their first state championship since 1978.

Skowhegan enters the Class A final as a decided underdog. Bonny Eagle is the defending champion, and is seeking its fourth state title in the last five years.

Marston, for one, sees the competition as more than something reflected on a scoreboard – a belief forged in the bigger picture gleaned from the perspective of helping others struggling with the basics of life in the new millennium.

“You’ve got to believe in more than winning and losing,” he said. “You’ve got to believe in being a good person, being a great teammate, playing the game the way it’s meant to be played, and playing with pride so when you leave that field you can be proud of yourself win, lose or draw.

“If that’s the most important thing, it takes some of the pressure off wins and losses.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045