April 04, 2010 (Portland, ME) – It was Walt Shepard’s passionate pursuit of the sport of biathlon that inspired, initiated, and developed the Maine Winter Sports Center into a window of economic opportunity and a source of pride for northern Maine.

When 9-year-old Walt, from Yarmouth, ME, discovered the sport of biathlon, there were few US sites for training and U.S. Biathlon Director, Max Cobb and Walt’s father Andy, then working for L.L. Bean, came up with a plan, made possible by the backing of the Libra Foundation.

With the over-riding goal of “re-establishing skiing as a way of life in Northern Maine”, there are now world-class biathlon facilities in Fort Kent and Presque Isle that have hosted World Cup biathlon events, and programs that encourage and support skiing and fitness in nearly every town. Most recently, Madawaska, ME, has completed a trail system of their own, and recently co-hosted  the SuperTour finals March 27-28.

It was there that Shepard competed in the last race of his career taking home the silver in the 15km mass start event. And the winner of the mass start race? Russell Currier of Stockholm, ME, inheriting the torch from Shepard as Maine’s pre-eminent biathlete. “That was pretty cool,” Shepard said. Read more in the Portland Press Herald story here.