CWSAA would like to thank the many people that contributed to the outstanding success of our 2013 Spring Conference. We had over 400 attendees participating in 45 different sessions over 3 ½ days. We would particularly like to recognize the following organizations and individuals:
Awards: Congratulations to Peter Gibson (Mt. Washington) and Marlin Van Zandt (Snow Valley) for winning the 2013 Jim Marshall and Lars Fossberg Awards, respectively. Peter and Marlin join a highly respected group of leaders from the Western Canadian ski industry who have been honoured with these prestigious awards.
Big White: We would like to thank Big White Ski Resort for hosting ParkScapers, and Flynn Seddon (Big White), Kevin Nichol (Gougeon), Shawn Letton & Caleb Bosse (Beaver Valley) for leading this progressive and pragmatic session.
Board: The CWSAA Board is very committed to the success of the association, and consistently provides strong support for our Spring Conferences and Zone Meetings. Thanks to: Kevin Fischer, Peter Gibson, Steve Paccagnan, Kevin Grogan, Mike Morin, Brent Harley, Dave Brownlie, Maureen Collins, Dave Morrison, Spencer Reavie and Andre Quenneville.
Crystal Mountain: Thanks to Mike and Genie Morin for hosting this year's on-mountain Operations & Maintenance sessions.
Golf: The Muirhead family (Inter-Mtn.) deserves recognition for organising and sponsorsing another highly successful golf tournament at Michaelbrook Ranch.
Government: We would like to acknowledge excellent participation by the BC Government, including key personnel from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Destination BC.
Host Hotel: The staff at the Delta Grand Okanagan should be recognized for their excellent hospitality and service over the course of the conference.
Operations & Maintenance: This year's conference featured 23 different Operations and Maintenance sessions, providing a diverse selection to conference participants. We would like to recognize Vicki Dalgleish for organising this Seminar, and the many CWSAA Members who volunteered their time and energy to facilitate or present at these sessions.
Safety & Risk Management: This meeting is a cornerstone function at our Spring Conferences and Zone Meetings. We appreciate the efforts of the Ken Hammell (Sun Peaks) and Rich Parie (Rabbit Hill) in facilitating this session. We are also grateful to Robert Kennedy (Farris) and Todd Lee (Miles Davison) for their invaluable contributions to these meetings.
Small Areas Auction: We would like to recognize the many members who donated items to the Small Areas Auction, and Kevin Grogan for his tireless efforts in organizing this fundraiser. Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $3,000 for the CWSAA Small Areas Assistance Fund.
Small Areas Workshop: We have received very positive feedback on this year's Small Areas Workshop, which featured a more structured format than previous years. Genie Morin (Crystal), Anne Pigeon (Whitewater), Roz Pulo (Asessippi), Mike Ractcliffe (Hidden Valley) and Eddie Wood (Seymour) all made significant contributions to this year's workshop.
Speakers: We were very fortunate to have an outstanding line-up of speakers this year. Our business speakers included: Bruce Croxon (Lavalife, Dragon's Den), David Goldstein (TIAC), Daniel Craig (Reknown), Barry Bieller (BC LCLB), John Korenic (YVR), Nate Fristoe (RRC), Shane Jensen (New Quest), Dr. Jasper Shealy & Dr. Lenka Stepan (Guidance Engineering), Dr. Tracey Dickson (University of Canberra), Anne Terwiel (Thompson Rivers University), Alix Pierce-Douglas (Cascade), Katharina Huebel, Rick Kunelius and Patrick Arkeveld (CSC).
Sponsors: Our heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, who provided financial and in-kind support for the conference: BC Safety Authority, The Globe and Mail, Jet Label, Whistler-Blackcomb, Marmot Basin, Doppelmayr, Liftopia, AEDARSA, Prinoth, Windsor, go2, Canadian Ski Council, Royal Roads University, Gougeon Insurance, Canada Ticket, E-Card, Leitner-Poma, Ecosign, Integro Insurance, MountainGuard, Silver Star Resort, Inter-Mtn., SMI Snowmakers, Sun Peaks Resort, Tourism Sun Peaks, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Resilient Marketing, Skiron, Snow Valley.
Staff: Thanks to Dawn Sleiman, Cathy Graham, Kelly Maguire and Don Robertson for their excellent work in organizing and staffing the conference.
