By Jacques Blais, National 5/5 Editorial Team Member and National Recognition Committee Member (jacques.blais@skipatrol.ca)
Get to know one of our members through a 5/5 article
Recipients of major national awards make the headlines in the 5/5 newsletter. These articles about members who have distinguished themselves and have been recognized are important. The CSP National Recognition Program states:
The Canadian Ski Patrol is not a business where it can recognize our members using monetary bonuses. It becomes therefore even more important that an awards program be used to recognize its volunteers.
An article published in April 2025 highlighted a member of the CSP Lanaudière Zone. Éric Therrien, a member since 2012, had received the John D. Harper Life Saving Award in 2024 for an off-snow intervention. Éric had intervened positively when a young girl was about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge with a rope tied around her neck. The article is available here.
The response from readers has been extraordinary.
The French version of the article had a snowball effect! It was one of the most widely read articles published in April 2025. But the impact was felt even more when the CSP Lanaudière Zone’s Facebook page was quickly flooded with messages of congratulations for Éric. So many, in fact, that he felt the need to respond as follows:
On that day, it was my duty as a citizen, and above all as a father, that spoke. From the very first seconds, it was clear to me that, no matter what happened, we were going to stay with her. Had she jumped, I would have jumped as well. We were with her, unconditionally.
The most unsettling part of all this was that the bridge fence was wire-meshed and highly visible. It was impossible not to see this young girl in distress on the other side. Yet many people passed by without even stopping, walkers, joggers, all focused on their routine. I even called out to passers-by to help us, but two men in the middle of a run simply looked at me before continuing, as if nothing had happened. Their smartwatches hadn’t planned to stop 😀!
Despite this indifference, I’m proud that our daily walk took this unexpected turn, because it saved a life. Thank you to my spouse, France Teasdale, and my neighbor, Marie-Claude Bergeron, for being present and committed without hesitation.
Thanks again to the CSP for this recognition.*
* This text was liberally translated from French.
The power of the 5/5 newsletter and awards.
Without the awards program, Éric’s feat would not have received the recognition it deserved, and without 5/5, members of the Canadian Ski Patrol would not have heard about it as effectively.
Your role is very important
The CSP awards programs, whether national, division or zone, only exist because volunteer members like you take the time to nominate colleagues for the many awards available. Without this effort, the achievements of the members around us would never be recognized.
Writing an article for 5/5 is also a way for all of you to honor the work of your patrols, their members and the executives at all levels of our organization.
When can I contribute?
Awards programs
Although each award program has its own deadline, it is always possible to nominate your colleagues throughout the year. Except for nominations for the John D. Harper Life Saving Award, which are processed throughout the year at the national level, nominations submitted after the deadline will simply be processed in the next cycle. Several zones and divisions have adopted the national awards platform. You can access it here. For others, please contact your division or zone directly.
Your zone or division doesn’t have an awards program? Perhaps you could start one with the help of your executives? And why not use the national awards platform in the process?
The 5/5 newsletter
If you have articles you would like included in 5/5, please submit them to A.P. Crawford (ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca) for English articles and to Jacques Blais (jacques.blais@skipatrol.ca) for French articles by the last day of every month.
Please make efforts to include supporting images or videos (attach these as separate files), so we can prepare the media to accompany your article. Articles with photos and video attract more readers than articles without them.
We can also help you with ideas or assistance when you draft your articles. All articles produced will be translated from their original language into the other official language.
This post is also available in: French