By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer
Norway’s Town Manager David Holt values loyalty, dedication and teamwork.

NORWAY – David Holt doesn’t hold the conventional opinion that aging isn’t always friendly to the body. “In many ways, I feel better now than when I was younger,” the 52-year-old Norway town manager said Friday.

Perhaps it’s taking care of himself that keeps him feeling good, or perhaps it’s a dedication to public service, which he says has its own rewards.

“Remember John F. Kennedy asking what can I do for my country? That kind of belief system, along with a comfort level with little Maine towns, is what I knew, so that’s what I like,” he said.

Holt served as a selectman in Greenwood, where he grew up on a dairy farm, while he was a college student at the University of Maine. He went on to serve as town manager of Princeton from 1976 to 1980, town manager of Dexter from 1980 to 1987 and town manager of Standish from 1987 to 1989 before his current job in Norway.

He’s owned a house in each town he has managed because that kind of loyalty is important to him.

“I’m pretty dull and pretty loyal,” he said in his deadpan fashion. “I always felt it was the right thing to do.”

One thing has changed as Holt has progressed in his career. He lost some of the idealism he carried as a young man who believed he had the power to help everything and everyone, a progression he said is natural and necessary to maintain balance.

“Your idealism wears off some as you get older and I think that’s a natural progression, but you never really totally lose it,” he said.

Holt’s an animal lover who lives in Norway, naturally, with his wife, Sally, and four cats. His 22-year-old daughter, Mary, attends the University of Maine.

“When I retire, I will have a dog,” he said, fondly recalling his collie Pete, his companion while he was town manager of Dexter. Holt admits that he’s such an animal lover, “I avoid watching sad movies about animals, even at my age.”

In his spare time, he does some work on his old cars, even though he says he’s not very good at it. He works on his 1966 Dodge Dart and 1977 Plymouth Volare “some, but not skillfully at all.”

He describes himself as an avid Neil Young fan, listening to his music “religiously.”

And he finds personal inspiration from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “He’s very successful, he’s very unassuming, and he believes in teamwork and dedication, and those values are something I truly respect,” said Holt.

Although he’s dedicated to public service, Holt said he works at keeping life in perspective. “This isn’t my life; this isn’t who I am,” he said, gesturing around his office. “I care about it, I want to be a credit to the profession, but it’s not who I am. I like to think that’s a healthy way to look at it.”