George Philbrick:
CLASS OF 1969
Ft. Fairfield High SchoolClass of 1969
Ft. fairfield, ME
Presque Isle High SchoolClass of 1971
Presque isle, ME
Houlton High SchoolClass of 1969
Houlton, ME
Caribou High SchoolClass of 1969
Caribou, ME
George's Story
College
It's almost an accident I got the degree. I did college pretty much the way I did high school; on as much my own terms as possible. I went to Ricker college the fall of 1969 (that's a story in itself) and much to my parents displeasure I didn't last long. In 1972 I started going to the University of New Hampshire parttime while in the Air Force stationed at Pease AFB. I worked with pilots and many were attending the University parttime too; it looked like the stylish thing to do at the time. I finished by accident the Assoc Degree then enrolled in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture in Environmental Conservation. In the mean time I had started a business which consumed much of my time and eventually I had to make a decision between school and business; business won; no regrets.
Workplace
This is a far cry from potatoe fields. In fact, I grew up thinking I was going to be a farmer and actually did for three years. Lost money two of them (those damn sugar beets). Dad asked me if I was going to farm the next spring, I said I didn't know after the previous two years, if I wasn't living at home I wouldn't have had food to eat, cloths to wear and a place to sleep. Dad agreed then said look at the education you got and I said ya, and you want to know what I learned? I learned I'm all done farming. I then got out of Dodge by enlisting in the Air Force (the best thing I ever did). After the Air Force I started a contract cleaning company in order to earn $95.00 per week to live on while I was going to the University of New Hampshire. That little cleaning company has since turned into a corporation comprised of a network of many small cleaning companies servicing much of New England. With the help of many talented people whom I've been fortunate to be associated with we are poised to expand thoughout the Eastern Seaboard as well as accross the country.
Military
The best thing I ever did! I had the opportunity to work with and become life long friends with some of our ...Expand for more
nations heros, military leaders and warriors. I worked as a staff administrator in the Command Control Division of a Stratigic Air Command Headquarters in both the United States and Asia. Both officers and enlisted set great examples. While on active duty I was recommended for embassy duty in Iran but passed on it as I had to extend for two more years in order to accept the assignment. I also had the opportunity to become an Air Force Recruiter but again, in order to accept I had to extend. This opprtunity arose again 3 years after I got out when the Air Force came looking for to come back on active duty as a recruiter with an assignment to Presque Isle; it was tempting but I had only started my business at the time and wanted to give it an honest attempt before doing something else. I was very fortunate to be married to a woman who was an excellent military wife. With the short notice TDY's and extended seperations it would have been much harder if she wasn't independant and able to make decisions without me being there; she was a warrior in her own right. After four years working in this enviornment it was a hard decision to leave the Air Force but I wanted to finish my degree without being interrupted by another permanent station move overseas again so I enlisted in the New Hampshire Air National Guard with a lot of reservation as I had not heard anything good about the Guard except they drank beer and played poker all week-end and since I didn't care for beer and I was never any good at poker I was a little apprehensive. I found out very quickly that wasn't what the Air National Guard was all about. I worked as a Training Manager in an aircraft maintenance squadron for 13 years; it was a great experience. The reserve and guard programs are well managed in this country with dedicated and highly proficient and qualified people. Making a decision to enter the military is like anything else, keep an open mind and be willing to learn and you will walk away with more than you could imagine.
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