The 2019 CSP Edmonton Zone Awards Banquet took place on Thursday, May 30 at the University of Alberta Faculty Club, with outgoing zone President Marty Van Keulen presiding. Below is a summary of awards.

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION are awarded to non-members or organizations who through their association with the Edmonton Zone have made significant contributions to the achievement of zone goals and objectives.

1. Kinosoo Ridge Snow Resort was recognized for their help and support of the CSP Kinosoo Patrol. The hill staff members and management were very welcoming and involved CSP volunteers in the hill’s official and social activities. Communication was open and constant between the PL and hill management to continuously improve the patrol.
2. Rabbit Hill Snow Resort was recognized for their continued support of the CSP and our members. We value their cooperation, especially for allowing our training team to run the on-hill component of our rookie course at Rabbit Hill every year.
3. Snow Valley Ski Club was recognized for their support and providing a pleasant working environment for all our members. They go out of their way to make sure our members know they are valued members of the Snow Valley team.
4. Marmot Basin was recognized for their continued support of our patrollers and their families. As always, our relationship is strong and communication with all levels of management and staff is fantastic.

ANGEL PINS are presented to spouses, significant others or family members of patrol members who have played a significant role assisting members in the management of their patrol commitments. This year’s recipients are: Deb Mastler, Denise Lauzon Dempsey, Brenda Littlejohn, Sue Philips, JP Charron, Heidi Sullivan, Frances Pownall, Cathy Trieber and Rob Arts.

YEARS OF SERVICE RECOGNITION PINS

5 YEARS: Mark Bensted, Allan Chiu, Benoit Côté, Rick Ellis, Matthew Ellis, Brendan Finnigan, Gill Preet, Kariann Goodkey, Chris Hamm, Richard Mah, Kelly Roach, Mark Schendel, Mike Steacy and Zac Storms

10 Years:  Marie Claude Côté, Sandra Mak and Robert Piercy

15 Years: Jeremy Derksen, Harry Janke and Shawn Kozurok

20 Years: Louise Charron and George Tribe

25 Years: Pam Fitzgerald and Chris McLeod

30 Years: Mike Cava

40 Years: Tim Ellis

ZONE AWARD OF MERIT CERTIFICATES are awarded to members for their outstanding and continued service in a manner beyond that normally expected.

1. Glenn Wilson. Devin Nicoll’s direct quote: Where there’s Gord you can almost always expect to see his Gumby Glenn. This is Glenn’s third season of patrolling at Rabbit Hill, Glenn pulled numerous extra shifts throughout the season and was Gord’s second every step of the way.
2. Brad Ambler had to fill some very large shoes to become “the new Peter”, replacing Peter Whitehead as the new Rabbit Hill Ski Patrol Director. Brad has experience as both CSP and paid patrol at numerous resorts across Mountain Division, and this has been an asset to communication, coordination and planning with the CSP Rabbit Hill Team. Whether it’s coordinating training locations/dates on a busy hill, arranging lift tickets, working with patrons or race clubs or teaching other patrollers, Brad always approaches things with a quiet, thoughtful and confident demeanor that can defuse the tensest situation.
3. Natacha Daniels has been a willing participant in getting our message out to potential recruits. Getting up at the crack of dawn to appear on TV while being friendly and approachable is not easy for most of us. Natacha has done a great job representing us and we hope she will continue to do it in the future.
4. Maria “the Masterful” Ovcharenko rounded out the Boyz Drool and Girlz Rule Squad on Friday nights at Rabbit Hill. She personifies what it means to be a member of the zone. Whether it be during cas-sim, diagnostics, a night at Rabbit Hill or completing her Marmot Basin training, Maria was always calm and collected while getting the job done with a smile on her face.
5. Gus Lefort transferred to the Edmonton Zone from Gatineau Zone. He quickly became an eager and valued member of the Rabbit Hill Patrol. Gus constantly volunteered for extra shifts and seemed to always be at the hill and is always eager to be involved in anything patrol related.
6. Maria Kim and Paul Girard showed extreme dedication to the CSP this season. They were so dedicated that they welcomed a future CSP member into the world mid-season, while barely missing a shift. Paul continued to complete both his and Maria’s shifts shortly after their daughter was born. A couple months later, Maria drove to Snow Valley and limped into the hut a few hours after she fell and twisted her ankle to personally ensure that the team would be OK if she couldn’t complete that afternoon’s shift.
7. Eric Leblanc and Marilayne Rioux demonstrated outstanding and continued service to the Kinosoo Patrol this year. They were committed and showed enthusiasm from the day they were recruited! They were always there to help the patrol by taking last minute shifts. They both participated in the First Aid Competition, finishing first in the Recruit First Aid category. Eric and Marilayne demonstrated great leadership in the patrol this year. Eric, with the support of Marilayne, will transition into the role of Patrol Leader next season.

ZONE APPRECIATION PINS are awarded to members who have received the Award of Merit and continue to provide outstanding service beyond that which is normally expected.

1. John Nesbit continues to be heavily involvement in the training of our recruits and returning patrollers. His wit and humor keep things light, but on task. In addition to keeping a roster at Rabbit Hill and Marmot he also finds time to be involved in our instructor training.

   

2. Rebekah Wensel agreed to lead our Junior Safety Patroller program again this year. She exceeded the great job she has done in the past. We had such a large group of juniors this year that we almost didn’t have enough openings for them. She managed to work it out though, and the Junior Safety Patrol had another great year.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: Jim Boss has played a very valuable role on the executive for many years. We count on him to ensure our first aid supplies are sourced and bought for our patrollers. He always ensures we have enough backpacks and supplies for our rookie patrollers so they are ready to hit the slopes the minute they complete their training. Although many people don’t know Jim looks after this, he does so without expectation of recognition and thanks. This will be Jim’s last year in the CSP and we want to make sure he realizes we have valued his long term commitment to this role.

AREA PATROLLERS OF THE YEAR

1. Rabbit Hill: Gord Smith has been patrolling at Rabbit Hill for three seasons. This season Gord was voluntold to be the shift senior on his shift. He approached his new position with a keen sense of responsibility and accepted every challenge in his stride. He was always willing to lend a hand and provide feedback or another perspective. Gord put in many extra shifts during the early season before the rookies were qualified.
2. Snow Valley: Sandra Mak not only just returned from maternity leave this year, but she stepped up to take on the PL role starting in the upcoming ski season. She jumped in with both feet to learn this new role. Sandra did everything she was asked to do and did it well.
3. Kinosoo Ridge: Nicolas Poirier has demonstrated outstanding leadership and a strong sense of responsibility to our patrol this year. Since Nicolas joined the patrol last year he has taken an active part and was constantly communicating with the PL. This year Nicolas showed his commitment by volunteering above expectation. He took a leadership role by being acting PL during the Christmas holidays. He also coordinated the participation of a team in the Mountain Division First Aid Competition. His team was very successful, finishing first in the Recruit First Aid Category. Nicolas will transition to becoming Kinosoo Ridge’s APL in the upcoming ski season.
4. Marmot Basin: Alistair Gunn had one of the higher attendance records this year at Marmot Basin. He spares on both the Camelherder and Roadrunner weekends and is a great role model for our patrol. He brings professionalism and a friendly attitude to the hill every day he is on duty.

APL OF THE YEAR: Mark Schendel took on the role of one of being one of the APLs for Rabbit Hill mid-way through the 2018/19 season. He has shown great enthusiasm in his role – mentoring other patrollers, filling numerous under-staffed shifts, and keeping track of hill rentals and extra-curricular events occurring at the hill. Such enthusiasm is contagious to the rest of the roster, making everyone excited to patrol and fill in where they can. Mark has brought two of his children into the Junior Safety Patroller program where they have quickly become valued members of the Rabbit Hill team.

PL OF THE YEAR: Benoit Côté has been Kinosoo Ridge PL for a few years now. He took on this role knowing it would be a lot of work. The transient nature of the patrollers at Kinosoo Ridge makes it difficult to build a strong team, as a lot are transferred within a year or two of being posted to the base at Cold Lake. Benoit has been able to help build an instructor group at Kinosoo, meaning that the Edmonton Zone no longer has to send up instructors for every training class. Benoit excels at communication and team building.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Juanita Allen quickly became a valued member of the Rabbit Hill Patrol. Covering numerous shifts when spares were required, as well as hill rentals. She was a member of a rookie competition team that did very well at the Mountain Division First Aid Competition. She also completed her high-country training at Marmot Basin.

EDMONTON ZONE PATROLLER OF THE YEAR: Richard Rothery has been very busy in our zone again this past season. Not only did he get in more days at Marmot than any other CSP patroller, he was also rostered at Rabbit Hill. He was also active as an instructor for more than 50 hours. He continues to do a fantastic job on our website and and puts in numerous hours creating and sending out our news blasts.

ON-HILL TRAINING AWARD: Riley Main has been involved in rookie on-hill training for several years. He was one of our first instructors on a snowboard. With more patrollers on snowboards, it’s really beneficial for our rookies to receive instruction from an experienced snowboarder. Riley’s manner of instructing is very professional and as a result we now have a much larger group of patrollers on snowboards.

The CHRIS BLACK SAFETY AWARD is awarded to Junior Safety Patrollers who have shown outstanding achievement and commitment to their area and the zone.

1. Zach Taylor: This was Zach’s first year as a Junior Safety patroller, this season he racked up 20 shifts in all sorts of weather. Zach was on Devin’s shift, which left him open to being put in numerous cas-sim positions in sub-zero weather being “impaled and broken”, resulting in him being back boarded, splinted, bagged and dragged. No matter the situation or the weather Zach was always eager to participate and almost seemed disappointed if there was not a cas-sim scenario on a given shift.
2. Makayla Campbell and Chloe Galagher constantly demonstrate the attributes of dedication and professionalism. They work as a team with the CSP and the Snow Valley operations team. They filled two shifts per week and carried out the duties of Junior Safety Patrollers with a smile and were always aware of hill situations and needs. Eager to participate in any on-hill and technical training, they were also quick to volunteer and assist staff, patrollers and patrons.