John LeMieux '83 graduated from Lyndon State College with a bachelor of science in physical education in 1983 and earned a master's degree in adapted physical education from Indiana University in 1985. He also earned the certified financial planner™ designation in 2005, completed the certified investment management program from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 2008, and passed the certified investment management analyst™ examination the same year. In 2010, John earned the certified divorce financial analyst™ designation.
After transferring to Lyndon in January 1981 from Castleton State College, John was a two-year member of the men's basketball team and a top runner on the cross country team. He was a basketball team captain along with fellow Athletic Hall of Fame members Bill Fitzgerald '86 and Mike Whaley '84. As a player, John was noted for two things: first his jumping ability – at 6'2" he had dunks in several games and often guarded opponents post players – and secondly his tenacity and work ethic. He knew early in his college career that he would be only as good as his training and preparation. He worked relentlessly to be in better shape than his opponents. He often says that the best thing he learned at Lyndon was "how to work hard, how to play hard, and how to tell the difference."
After graduating, John was a basketball coach for ten years. At Indiana University, he served as a volunteer assistant with the women's basketball team while completing his master's degree before becoming an assistant women's coach at Kent State University and the University of Pittsburgh. In 1987, he was named the head women's basketball coach at Division II Keene State College. In his first year at Keene, his team won the Division II Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship while setting a school record for wins and leading the nation in three-point field goals made per game. He was named the New England Collegiate Conference coach-of-the-year in 1988. His team also won the ECAC Championship in 1989 and broke their own record for wins in a season. He has the highest winning percentage of any Keene State College coach.
In 1989, John was named the inaugural men's basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Colby-Sawyer College, an all-women's college that was soon to admit men. In his first year of competition, playing an NCAA D-III varsity schedule with all freshmen, his team went 13-12. Since 2002, John has served as a special assistant to one of his former Colby-Sawyer players at Southern Maine Community College. As a player and coach, he has spent 34 seasons in college basketball.
John left coaching as a full-time profession in 1993 and began to work in the investment business. In 2009, he co-founded Anton LeMieux Financial Group with offices in Maine and Florida.
After losing his left leg to cancer in 2012, John founded the Amputee Association of Maine, a 501(c)3 organization to serve amputees and their families and became very involved as a competitor in amputee golf tournaments. He is a life member of the Eastern Amputee Golf Association and, as of this writing, is the number 71 ranked amputee golfer in the country and the number 15 ranked above-knee amputee golfer. He also founded and hosts the Gorham Savings Bank Maine Amputee Open – a 36-hole tournament along with an adapted golf clinic and a corporate scramble, which is held over four days.
John and his wife, Cindy, live in Portland, ME, and Naples, FL.
