Hello everyone, I'm Silas Shepard. I am a Vermont native, born and raised, and I'm very proud to be a Vermonter. I'm here to tell you all about my good friend Javen. As stated before, I've known him for quite some time—ever since 2015, when I made the wisest decision of my life to join the South Burlington Dolphins football program with Coach Rene.

I've met many wonderful people through the program, not only as a player but as a coach as well. I am honored to be a part of that legacy, and I am blessed to have many of them by my side today. Not only did Javen and I face adversity on the field, but in the classroom as well. It was not easy to see students and faculty alike gradually lose their sense of tradition, morality, and principle—being taught that the crowd is always correct and the individual is wrong, and taught to hate rather than reason. Javen and I remained our own men and graduated with our heads held high.

Sadly, this decline in morals seems to be a common theme, and it doesn't only affect our education, but our society as a whole. These morals of virtue, honor, love, strength, and patriotism have sadly faded, even though they have guided our nation since the beginning and their effectiveness was proven to us 2,000 years ago by a man named Jesus Christ.

Many will question why our generation—young men like us—are sadly fleeing our wonderful state; the sons and daughters of men and women who have sacrificed everything to uphold these morals. I truly believe that with a strong, compassionate, and intellectual leader such as Javen in our State Senate, it will benefit Vermonters and our homes alike. Thank you.

Silas Shepard

Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 | Javen Sears’ Campaign Launch Party