AUBURN — Pretty much everyone agrees that John Jenkins himself would be pleased with this year’s recipient of the award that bears his name. 

That award, The John Jenkins Hands & Hearts Leadership & Service Award, was bestowed Monday night on longtime school track and ski coach Dan Campbell, who, while battling cancer, has made a mission out of helping the homeless and downtrodden. 

Jenkin’s longtime partner, Ann Parker, in particular sees Campbell as the perfect embodiment of the principles the award was meant to represent. It came to her as she was pondering her memories of Jenkins, a former Auburn mayor who died in 2020. 

“I thought of leadership, inspiration, mentor, approachable and the list goes on and on and on,” Parker said. “And I had to say, wait a minute — is that John or is that Dan?” 

In early 2021, Campbell was diagnosed with cancer. He was told it was incurable and that he had only months to live. However, fifteen months later, the cancer was gone. 

That was good news, for sure, but Campbell didn’t simply sit back and celebrate. 

With the disease in remission, Campbell turned his attention to helping his fellow man, with particular emphasis on the surging numbers of homeless living in the area. 

“So I just started hitting the streets — sitting down with them, talking to them, getting to know them,” Campbell, 71, said during an earlier interview with the Sun Journal. “I know what their needs are, where they are coming from, what the story is. They need shelter; they need a place to go.” 

His selfless efforts remind a lot of people of Jenkins, who is remembered so fondly across the state and beyond for his generous works.

“Dan, embodies the qualities of service, integrity, inspiration, hard work and commitment,” said Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque, who created the award three years ago. “He cares deeply for the people of our community. He has poured his heart and soul into the homeless community here in Auburn … Dan has proven more than once how tough he really is.” 

The mayor has a special connection to Campbell, having been coached by the man 30 years ago as a young track athlete. 

“I was a very bad runner, but he made me feel like I was good, and that I will never forget,” Levesque said. “That’s just the type of thing he’s done historically and today, even while he’s battling cancer.” 

Campbell has coached athletes at a variety of high schools and colleges and was a substance abuse counselor for people facing a crisis. Campbell also battled addiction, but has said his strong faith and desire to help his fellow man allowed him shake off the bonds of drug dependency. 

He has said that his mission to be a comfort to the homeless began when he was bedridden two years ago as his cancer took hold. In recent years, Campbell has become a kind of one-man operation aimed at helping to feed the homeless and occasionally to provide living space for them. 

And while the people who packed council chambers gushed in their admiration for Campbell, Campbell himself expressed his admiration for Jenkins, whom he first met in the 1970s as a student at Bates College. 

“He was a strong base for me because I was young and full of confusion,” Campbell said, during an often emotional acceptance speech. “He helped me understand what integrity meant… He understood the word ‘endure,’ and what ‘endure’ means to me is taking on more than you can handle and then adding more to it.” 

Campbell also thanked two women, a pair of aunts whom he credited with giving him and his sister “unconditional love” when they needed it the most as children. Both women were in the room and seemed to choke back tears as Campbell addressed them.

It was an emotional moment and those in attendance generally agreed that Jenkins would be pleased. 

“I think John is looking down with a lot of happiness,” Parker said, “and a lot of pride.” 

“I guarantee you,” said Levesque, “that John Jenkins is smiling down on us because he probably would have chosen Dan, as well.” 

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