IRVING, Texas — Jack Dawson of Portland, a longtime football presence in southern Maine at the high school and college levels, has been named a recipient of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame’s 2016 Chapter Leadership Awards.
The Chapter Leadership Awards annually recognize five individuals from different regions of the country for their commitment, generosity and leadership at the local level in fulfilling the NFF’s mission of “Building Leaders Through Football.”
Dawson, the Northeast recipient, and the other regional honorees will be recognized during the NFF’s Chapter Awards Luncheon on Dec. 6 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
The Chapter Leadership Award recipients have spearheaded the efforts of their respective chapters: Securing funds for scholarships; selecting the honorees; and staging events to benefit the young people who play football.
Dawson has been devoted to the advancement of the game of football in Maine for more than 50 years.
After graduating from Cheverus High School in Portland, Dawson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston College while playing football under College Football Hall of Fame player-turned-coach Mike Holovak.
Dawson served as head football coach at Cheverus and Westbrook high schools for 20 years and later as an ECAC official for 10 years. His book, “Football’s Backbone Defense,” received national notoriety for its scheme to stop the wishbone offense.
Dawson served on the Portland City Council for 10 years and also was the city’s mayor. He also is owner and president of the 110-year-old Dolan Flavoring Company, and his summer camps have been operating for more than 40 years.
He has been honored for his community service by Boston College, the B’nai B’rith, the Portland Boys and Girls Club and the Maine Sports Legends.
A founding member of the NFF State of Maine Chapter in 1988, Dawson has served as the emcee for the chapter’s awards dinner for 29 years.
A few years ago he expanded the chapter’s prestige and influence by making the historic Fitzpatrick Trophy, which annually honors the top high school football player in the state, part of the chapter’s activities. Dawson has been the chair and emcee of the Fitzpatrick Trophy dinner for 45 years.
“In a sense, football and I have grown and matured together,” said Dawson in a press release. “The fact that I believe we have given each other the best we have to offer has been a comforting and driving force in everything I have experienced ever since; and it has been that good fortune that has made my involvement with the chapter so eventful and rewarding.
“Perhaps most fulfilling, at this stage, is that football, through its players and coaching colleagues, continues to educate me; and reinforces the work ethic that is so characteristic of the game.”
Previously the dean of admissions at Cheverus, he continues to work as a special assistant to the president at the school. Dawson and his wife, Eileen, reside in Portland and have five children and nine grandchildren.