Newry man receives Wiggie Robinson Legendary Guide Award

Kevin Slater of Newry was awarded the Wiggie Robinson Legendary Guide Award at a recent banquet of the Maine Professional Guides Association in Brewer.

The award was named after the late Wiggie Robinson, who was a longtime guide in the Katahdin area. Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife made the presentation on April 13 in front of more than 400 people.

Slater, a master Maine guide who has been guiding since 1973, is the 14th person to receive the award.

Slater and Polly Mahoney, another legendary guide award winner, run Mahoosuc Guide Service. The guides offer dog sledding, canoeing and fishing trips in Maine, New England and Canada. They also offer training on becoming a guide, whitewater canoeing, making paddles, building canoes and dog sleds, plus wilderness first responder and first aid.

The list of Slater’s accomplishments is long. Among them, Slater was a guide in Denali National Park in Alaska working for Alaskan dog sled tours. In Maine, he founded Dirigo Mountain Rescue and Dirigo Search and Rescue. He was involved in technical rescues in Baxter State Park, including the 1984 avalanche on Katahdin, according to Mark Latti, communications director for the MDIF&W.

He was the founding director of Maine Bound, an outdoor program at University of Maine, and created the Outdoor Leader program while a graduate student there. He also created junior guide programs in his community.

Slater mentored more than 60 apprentices over the last 30 years, Latti said. He also was an examiner on the Maine Guides Oral Board for 10 years, and a founder of the Maine Wilderness Guides Association.

Previous award winners were Gil Gilpatrick, Gary Corson, Gardner Defoe, Matthew P. Libby, Don Dudley, Danny Legere, Richard Scribner, Donald E. Helstrom Jr., Lance Wheaton, Bonnie Holding, Carroll Ware, Polly Mahoney and Jerry Packard.