SCARBOROUGH – A Scarborough couple was presented the prestigious Bob Brown Contributor Award by the the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches (MABC).

George and Patricia Conant of Scarborough were presented the award at the 2012 Maine McDonald’s® High School Senior All-Star Basketball Games banquet at Husson University in Bangor. Each year, the All-Star Games committee selects an honoree who has made a significant contribution to the sport of basketball in Maine.

“For George and Pat, basketball is not only a passion, but also has been a lifetime commitment,”said David Halligan, boys basketball coach at Falmouth High School. “They have been involved in Maine High School basketball in numerous capacities for more than 35 years and we are proud to recognize them for their many contributions to Maine high school basketball.”

According to the MABC:

Patricia Conant has often said that she “married” basketball when she met her future husband, George Conant, at the University of Maine more than 40 years ago. It wasn’t long before her commitment to the game further took root when she began keeping score for a men’s basketball league in Western Maine. Then, after the birth of their first child in 1974, Pat began keeping the scorebook at Dirigo High School home basketball games, the beginning of her priority to support and encourage high school sports in Maine.

Patricia continued to keep score at Dirigo until she left in 1988 to become the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Livermore Falls High School. In 1990, she returned to Dirigo as Principal and is one of only a few active principals to keep the scorebook for a team participating in the MPA tournament. Pat was named to the BCD West Basketball Committee, eventually assuming the chair. From 1994 to 2001 she served as Principal of Falmouth High School. She then accepted a position as a Guidance Counselor at Scarborough High School, and was named Principal three years later. Pat stepped in to complete the term of her predecessor on the Western AB basketball committee until her retirement in 2010.

George Conant has been involved in Maine high school sports for more that 35 years. He has been a member of the Maine Basketball Coaches Association Executive (MABC) since 1988 and is currently completing his 11^th year as Executive Secretary. Throughout his career as a high school basketball coach, Conant’s teams have played in two State Championship Games and qualified for the Regional Tournament 9 of the 10 years. Conant has been honored twice as Coach of the Year by the MABC and chosen twice to coach the Maine McDonald’s All-Star Teams.

George graduated from Dixfield Regional High School (now Dirigo High School) where he played basketball, baseball and ran cross-country. After graduating from UMaine in 1969, George helped organize and run a youth basketball feeder program in his hometown of Canton. In 1988 he began his high school coaching career at Dirigo High School, first as the freshman boys coach, then as junior varsity boys coach and then as girls varsity coach. From 1995 to 2000 he coached the Greely High School girls team. In 2004 he served as volunteer assistant coach for the boys’ varsity team at Falmouth High School and was named girls’ varsity coach in 2006, a position he held until 2008.

George’s love of basketball and his desire to help others learn and enjoy the game of basketball are sure to keep him involved in some capacity for a lifetime.