Citizens Friendship: Tanner and Charlie

GORHAM (WGME) – A USM men’s hockey star is making his mark both on and off the ice.
Written by: Dave Eid, WGME

USM senior Tanner McClure likes to keep busy. A four-year starter on the men’s ice hockey team, McClure is confident his Huskies can make a strong run into the postseason. “We’ve proven we can play with all teams,” McClure said. “We lost only 2-1 to the #1 team in the country, so we are right there, and I think going into the second half, we’re looking to take the momentum we ended with and make a run, so we’re really excited going forward.”

McClure is busy with the books, too. Majoring in sports management, he carries a 3.874 GPA and is a three-time William B. Wise Scholarship Award winner. “I think that’s just a testament to what USM athletics instills in their athletes. Academics come first,” McClure said. “I owe a lot to my parents for teaching me that academics come first. You know hockey is my love, but I wouldn’t be here without academics and succeeding in the classroom, so it’s really important.”

Another important part of McClure’s life is the work he does off the ice with Best Buddies of Maine. “Best Buddies is something I didn’t know anything about until this past summer, and I got in contact with Best Buddies Maine,” McClure said. “It’s an international organization that focuses on building one-to-one relationships with someone with intellectual or developmental disabilities.” McClure and his Best Buddy Charlie have formed an unbreakable bond, something McClure hopes can spread throughout the campus and beyond. “To go and build friendships with people who have developmental or intellectual disabilities is kind of refreshing, and you know, they’re always so happy and they spread joy, and I think that’s something that needs to be a bigger part not only of the USM community, but the world in general, and it’s really refreshing to build these relationships and see it affecting other people as well,” McClure said.