Paul Kailey

Paul Kailey's career in skiing started in Berlin, NH where he captained his high school ski team and was an active member of the Nansen Ski Club. Growing up in a time when ski lifts were few and far between he and his friends competed to find the best natural hills and build the biggest jumps.

On graduation he joined the Army Air Corps and served as a gunner on a B-17 in the Eighth Air Force in World War II. At the end of the war Kailey attended Middlebruy College on the GI Bill. An outstanding skier in both nordic and alpine events he was a key member of teams that won the National Collegiate Championships in 1947 and 1948. He demonstrated his leadership as captain of the team in his senior year.

Upon graduation he moved to Gould Academy in Bethel where he taught and coached skiing and football from 1950 to 1966. He was a highly respected coach and teacher who helped develop Gould's renowned competitive skiing program. He is credited with taking the Academy to new heights. His ski teams became powerhouses in New England prep school competition and they captured several conference championships.

To recognize his contribution in 1989 Gould dedicated its cross country trails system in his name and in July of 2003 Gould's Competition Center at Sunday River was renamed in his honor.

While teaching driver's education at Gould, he traveled the back roads of the area and recognized Barker Mountain as a potential ski area. He, along with a group of local businessmen, became a pioneer in developing Sunday River Ski Area, at one point serving as President of the Corporation.

Through the early years he worked along with those building the ski area and in 1976 when Sunday River hosted the alpine events in the NCAA ski championships he played a key role working with Middlebury's Howard Kelton in setting courses and performing other duties. Through the Sunday River Ski Club he supported racing and helped countless competitors.

He and his wife Jean owned and operated the Sunri Ski Shop at Sunday River and Bethel where he was always ready to offer support to causes from ski racing to the local ski patrol.

After his retirement from Gould in 1966, Paul had a successful career as a sales representative for several ski clothing companies. In 1995 the New England Winter Sports Representatives organization established an award honoring Kailey to be presented annually to the member rep who best represents the values he personified in the challenge to be competitively successful while also maintaining integrity, honesty and sincerity. F

or his contributions to competitive skiing and his work in the creation of one of the state's premier ski resorts, Paul Kailey has earned a place in the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.