2017-2018 Far West Skier's Guide - 48

Outstanding
FWSA Ski Clubs
& Councils Give
From the Heart!
by Sigrid Noack
Charities & Our Community Chair, FWSA

The Far West Ski Association and its
nine participating ski councils are committed
to supporting charitable giving and volunteerism. Through donations and volunteer
services of our individual members in clubs
and councils, we hope to enhance the quality
of life within our communities. Most of our
clubs and councils are involved with charitable activities, doing some amazing work for
those who are less fortunate. FWSA is working towards having every club in each council
be involved with at least one charity. This is
quite an ambitious effort, since there are more
than 150 ski clubs within the FWSA family.
At this year's Convention in beautiful Boise,
we again recognized our clubs and councils for
their generous charity support with the
eleventh annual "Charity and Community
Service Recognition". By openly recognizing
so many groups annually at the Convention,
we hope to encourage others to become more
involved with charity activities and donations.
Intermountain Ski Council's Bogus Basin
Ski Club applied for this Charity Recognition
for the first time, in the Diamond Class. Congratulations to President, Kim Hovren and her
group for being so involved with charitable
giving, and for taking the time to apply for this
recognition. The ski club donated the winning
$50 check to Bogus Basin Ski Patrol. Other
charitable organizations supported by BBSC
are the Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation,
the College of Idaho Ski and Snowboard Team,
and Recreation Unlimited, an adaptive ski program at Bogus Basin for children and adults
with physical and/or developmental disabilities. The club raises the funds with their Warren Miller Premiere Film Festival Party &
Movie event. Members are now celebrating 52
Years of presenting this annual fundraiser to
begin the winter season. This is a huge community event with 1,700 people in attendance
this year, and the club raised $3,249.05 for
their four favorite charities. Great job
Bogus Basin Ski Club!
Four Seasons West Ski & Snowboard Club of
Los Angeles Council of Ski Clubs took first
place in the Diamond Class, which is for clubs
that have never won this recognition. Presi48

At the Annual FWSA Convention, President, Kim Hovren with her Bogus Basin Ski Club
accepted a $50 FWSA check donated to the Bogus Basin Ski Patrol.
photos provided by Sigrid Noack

dent, Jane Gutierrez, happily accepted the $200
check from FWSA. The club donated their
winnings to the Jenesse Center, a domestic violence prevention and intervention organization. This Center's programs and services
include emergency shelter, counseling, legal
services, education and health services, among
others. The overall goal of the Jenesse Center
is to change the pattern of abuse in the lives
of women and children. Four Seasons West
has a year-long activity for the Jenesse Center
that begins every January - their 4SW Christmas Toiletry Wrap. Members collect toiletries,
makeup, towels, toothbrushes, etc. all year. In
December, members celebrate each other at a
potluck by wrapping gift boxes, which are
then personally delivered to the Jenesse Center.
This is a favorite community effort for club
members. Club members also support the
American Cancer Society Relay For Life by taking part in their Annual Walk-A-Thon. This is
a 12 hour event and members can attend any
time to give their support. Especially meaningful for participants is the luminaria ceremony in the evening to grieve and celebrate
those who have passed on, as well as, those
who are cancer survivors. Four Seasons West
is aligned with the Western Region of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, a charitable organization, whose mission is to support youth of
color for ski competition and to increase participation in the winter sport. Club members
enjoy participating in their local and national
ski weeks and especially the annual NBS Winter Carnival, where they raised $1,200 this
year.
Pacific Rim Alliance of Los Angeles Council
and San Diego Council was the winner in the
Double Diamond Class, which is for clubs that
have won the Diamond Class in previous
years. President, Catherine Ohl, accepted the

$200 FWSA check, and the club donated the
funds to Can Do MS, formerly known as the
Jimmie Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis,
founded by FWSA's good friend Jimmie Heuga.
Pac Rim is an amazing organization, involved
with many charitable organizations, for whom
members raise funds. This year, the group
raised $2,350 with their 16th Annual Wine
Maker Dinner for MS. To date, they have raised
$29,000 with these very special and elaborate
dinners, and more than $40,000 in their total
fundraising efforts for Can Do MS. Another
charitable activity was their Ride and Ski for
MS at Squaw Valley, which included a scavenger hunt, a NASTAR race and a chance to
ski with skiers, who had benefitted from the
Can Do MS program. Club members felt it
was a great experience seeing the joy that a
day of skiing brought them. The club also participated in the International Coastal Cleanup at
Oceanside Beach, joining the world's largest volunteer effort for our ocean and waterways, as
well as, our canyons, creeks and parks, removing over 150,000 lbs of debris! Another fundraising activity for Pacific Rim members was
the Walk to End Alzheimer's. Members walked
as team "Pat's Pride" in honor of a member's
sister. Together, with the Radar River Rats,
they raised more than $5,000 at this event.
President, Catherine Ohl, supports the USARC
Peak-to-Peak and Ski-A-Thon by donating the
time needed to create graphic packages for
their two major fundraisers. The Peak-to-Peak
is a 5-day bike ride from Big Bear to Mammoth Mountain held every October. Club
members also assisted with the World Cup
Womans' Races in Squaw Valley, California.
Pac Rim members are very conscientious
about recycling, setting up a bin at every meeting and donating the cash to one of their charities. Pac Rim chooses a charity to support

Far West Skier's Guide 2O17 - 2O18 / See the Digital Edition of the Far West Skier's Guide at www.fwsa.org.

http://www.fwsa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2017-2018 Far West Skier's Guide