Salem Observer
March 21, 2007

Back in 1983, Paul LaBarre became part of the Daniel Webster College community. He never left.

LaBarre, a former Salem resident now living in Windham, began teaching part time for the college 24 years ago. Since then, he’s been a campus mainstay, holding a number of full-time positions and watching a hockey program he started become a championship team.

For LaBarre, 64, working at the college allows him to combine his passions for education and aviation and working with young people.

“It’s a great small school in a great location, the city of Nashua,” said LaBarre during a recent interview in his office. “It’s a great place to have a small college. We’ve grown so much. I look out my window now and I see what we’ve got compared to what we had 24 years ago. It’s night and day. It’s come a long way and going even further.”

LaBarre has worn a varety of hats – directing the admissions office, coaching baseball and hockey, teaching, running an aviation camp, serving as director of academic support services – and now serves as director of alumni relations and director of graduate admissions.

“In small schools I think everyone does that,” LaBarre said. “Whatever needs to be done, you’re just there, available and ready to do it.”

LaBarre, who graduated from Nashua High School in 1960, joined the Navy at 17. Following a tour of duty, he joined the Air Force where he spent a decade as a meteorologist. His tenure including service with the famed
Hurricane Hunters and Typhoon Chasers.

LaBarre, who continued his education and earned a master of arts degree in psychology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., became an Air Force ROTC instructor at Daniel Webster in 1983.

LaBarre retired from the service and joined the college’s staff full time four years later.

He has been director of graduate admissions since November and director of alumni relations for more than five years.

Cindy Stewart, who works in the graduate and continuing studies office, has known LaBarre about nine years.

“He’s great with the kids,” Stewart said. “If they have a problem, they’ll come see Paul. He’s got a fatherly way about him.”

One of LaBarre’s contributions to the school has been its hockey program. Fifteen years ago, he started the program on a shoestring budget.   

“In the early years when we first started, it was just a bunch of kids who wanted to play hockey,” he recalled.

“It turned out we had some pretty good players. Not a lot of them, probably eight or 10 very good players and another 15 or so that just wanted to play.”

“We had to beg a lot to get funding to get this thing started,” he added.

His wife, Beverly, did whatever she could to help.

“We’d be at a game and a local high school student would be at the game and I’d introduce her to the parents and the kid and she’d kind of hang out with them a bit and convince them this was the best place for them,”

LaBarre said. “She’s a pretty good recruiter, too.”

LaBarre no longer coaches the team but serves as director of hockey operations. This month the team won its first hockey championship in school history when they won the New England Collegiate Hockey Association Conference B title.

LaBarre’s passion for hockey is evident in Salem where he serves as referee-in-chief for Salem Youth Hockey. LaBarre, who lived in Salem about 22 years before moving to Windham two years ago, has coached hockey in the program.

Through his connections with young people, LaBarre has helped them make decisions about their future plans.

“I firmly believe no matter where you work, if you’re in higher ed, you’ve got to work with younger people regardless of where they want to go, what they want to do,” he said. “I think we owe it to them to help them, directionwise. Certainly if I’ve got a student who plays hockey, especially, that I know might be interested in  finding a place to go where they might fit in certainly I’ll work with them. If it’s here, so be it. I hope it’s here.”

Thanks to Aviation Career Education camps that LaBarre launched at the college 15 years ago, more than 1,500 young people have discovered opportunities in aviation.

The program includes a one day camp for local youngsters and another one for high school students from all over the country.

Although LaBarre has already devoted more than 20 years to the school, he intends to keep working for at least three more years until he’s 68.

“I enjoy what I’m doing,” he said. “God’s been good to me. My health has been good. I’ve got good energy. I feel great.”

Published Wednesday, March 21, 2007 4:59 PM