Former UVM Student-Athlete Supports Future Generations of Catamounts

David Holton ’72, a 10th-generation Vermonter whose family was working this land two generations before Vermont officially became a state, is as humble and gracious as they come. He grew up in an environment of discipline and hard work. His father was a Marine and his mother a member of the Coast Guard before they married and returned to the family homestead in Westminster. The Holton Farm was perhaps the last tobacco farm in Vermont, representing the northernmost outpost of a stretch along the Connecticut River that was once called Cigar Valley. Holton spent his childhood doing hand work in the fields, plowing, harrowing, weeding, and harvesting. He says each member of the family was expected to contribute.

Today it’s that same sense of duty, nurtured on the farm and in the field, that has impelled him to contribute to his alma mater. While the stories of his youth live vividly in his mind’s eye, the veteran insurance man also has his sights set on the future. Holton and his wife Michele have made an estate commitment to establish two new David B. and Michele A. Holton endowed funds in Athletics. The first will support the general purposes of the Department of Athletics, and the second will provide annual scholarships to varsity student-athletes from Vermont who have demonstrated both financial need and academic merit, with preference for members of the men’s basketball team.

Holton says he hopes the two endowments will benefit student-athletes, teams, and the entire community of Catamount fans for generations to come.

“I look back at where I was when I was 18 years old, and if I could duplicate that for somebody else, that would be meaningful for me. If there’s some young man or young woman who is striking out trying to become an athlete at UVM and could use some help financially to get to UVM ... I want to kind of pass the torch back a little bit because people have helped me. People gave me a break, people gave me an opportunity that I would like to pay back.”

The Holtons have been steadfast supporters of UVM Athletics for decades and are regulars at home basketball and hockey games. David played shortstop for the UVM baseball team from 1968-1972 and earned his bachelor of science in business administration. He says he formed friendships at UVM with other student-athletes and members of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, that have continued to influence his life and business in the nearly 50 years since his graduation. He now serves as president of The Essex Agency, a Main Street fixture in downtown Essex Junction, Vermont, specializing in commercial insurance. He started the business shortly after graduation with two fellow student-athletes, George Kreiner ’70 and John Hynes ’69.

“I ended up being successful in Burlington, more than I ever expected, to be honest with you. It’s been more than a dream come true, but I never forget where I came from and how I got here. UVM is the glue in that piece,” said Holton. “I’ve never been confused about what I owe back to UVM for what they gave me. It’s an easy memory for me to call up. I’m just this poor little Vermont farm boy, you know?”