If you find yourself somewhat uninspired in these voting doldrums between the November election and the upcoming town elections, take heart, another great voting opportunity is literally at your fingertips. 

Boothbay Region High School senior Carter Babcock has applied for the Hood Sportsmanship Scholarship and he kindly requests your vote.

Awards of $5,000 college scholarships go to three high school seniors in each New England state. Each applicant must have participated in a varsity sport, maintained a 3.0 grade point average, volunteered in his or her community and displayed a high degree of sportsmanship while playing high school sports. 

Babcock is a three-season athlete who has played and excelled at baseball, football and basketball since his elementary school days. He has served as captain on all three high school teams. Babcock said he has learned quite a lot about sportsmanship in his athletic career and he used that premise for his scholarship application essay.

“He did an excellent job because he tells what it’s like to be on two 0-16 teams and what you learn about sportsmanship and sports,” School Resource and Boothbay Harbor Police Officer Larry Brown said of Babcock’s essay.

“It’s easy to win a lot of games and be a good sport but it really tests your good sportsmanship when you lose a lot,” Babcock said.

In his essay, Babcock describes what it was like to persevere on BRHS’s baseball team over three losing seasons while other teammates fled the team.

“When my junior year rolled around, the team was made up of kids who were invested and didn’t care about wins or losses. I had the privilege of being captain and I am proud to say that we won our first game in three years. One win might not be that big of a deal to some, but to those players who stayed, it felt like winning the World Series. I learned that being committed to something you love and being part of a team who works together, despite the outcome, is the meaning of sportsmanship.”

As a National Honor Society member, Babcock had no trouble meeting the grades requirement and Brown confirmed Babcock is an avid community volunteer. “Carter has volunteered his time to referee youth basketball and he also is helping Coach (Smith) Climo with the middle school baseball team,” Brown said. 

In his spare time, Babcock enjoys videography. With classmate Sam Betts, he has launched his own humorous YouTube series, “Cooking With Chef.” He and Brown are also teaming up with BRCTV Station Manager Cody Mitchell to produce a drinking and driving public service announcement.

Babcock plans to attend Plymouth State University next year and major in communications and marketing.

Now here is your opportunity to make a difference. 

Scholarship finalists will be chosen via online voting at Hood.com until 3 p.m. April 10. The ten students from each of the six New England states who receive the most votes will be interviewed by a panel of judges, who will select three winners from each state. Winners will be honored at a banquet.

Getting Babcock through the first phase of the contest is going to take a community effort. Voting is quick and simple. Each individual email address may vote once daily at Hood.com. 

Get on it!