New national life members in 2024

By A.P. Crawford, Life Member # 87 (ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca)

The highest award that a member of the CSP can receive is the Life Membership Award. It is given to recognize regular members of the CSP in good standing who, through their activities and actions, have made meaningful contributions to enhance, grow, or improve programs and practices across one or more of the multiple dimensions of the CSP. Preference is given to nominees whose contributions have had, or are likely to have, significant and positive impact on the CSP nationally.

Since the CSP was founded in 1941, there has been just 97 individuals recognized as life members, starting with Dr. Doug Firth. These individuals are the builders of the CSP we have today and can be easily recognized as they are the ones who have a gold-coloured name and award number bar on their nametags.

In 2024, the CSP was delighted to honour four such individuals. Information about their contributions is set out below. Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement at this year’s AGM in September of newly recognized life members in 2025.

94 Richard Asselin 

Richard Asselin joined the CSP in 2001 in Manitoba’s Red River Zone and in short order became an instructor, showing dedication and aptitude to teaching new candidates the skills it takes to become a patroller. To this day he continues the education of new patrollers, and, as an instructor trainer, many instructors have benefitted from his meticulous attention to details He is frequently the lead instructor during classes.

At the zone level, his many roles have included supply officer, off-snow coordinator, zone president, instructor trainer and patrol leader, bringing excellence to each.

In 2008, Richard became the Manitoba Division president and served in that role until 2015. The four zones in Manitoba, distant geographically, began coming together as a division through improved communication and more regularly scheduled meetings and training sessions.

In 2015, Richard was elected to the national board of directors, where he served until 2020, including as a member of the governance, financial oversight, and legal review committees. His knowledge of governance for non-profit organizations was a key factor in the CSP taking the necessary steps to ensure our governing practices follow standards of practice and keep the CSP in compliance with Canadian Charities legislations.

As a member of the financial oversight committee (FOC), Richard’s work with the governance committee was closely aligned with the FOC to again ensure that the CSP operates in accordance with the Income Tax Act and the requirements of the Canada Revenue Agency. His expertise in research and laws regarding charitable organizations and governance helped underpin the work necessary to bring the CSP into compliance. Without compliance in all of these key areas for a national non-profit charitable organization, the CSP would not be able to continue operating as it currently does.

Most recently, Richard served as patrol leader at Springhill Winter Park, stepping in when a long-standing life member serving as patrol leader became seriously ill. With his extensive skill set, he successfully led the patrol team through two years of patrolling under very trying circumstances, all the while continuing with his other roles at all three levels of the CSP.

In the words of his nominators for this award, “Richard is a natural leader. Through his diligence to maintain a level of excellence in his skills as a patroller he quietly inspires others to aim high.” His enthusiasm for the CSP is infectious, as is his passion for skiing. As a CSIA instructor, on a slow day at the hill he is often heard saying ‘anyone up for doing some drills?’ and off they go. He truly understands that the connection at both an informal and professional level builds a stronger volunteer team by building connections between people.

Last September Richard was recognized for all the work he has undertaken and his huge contribution to the CSP with Life Member Award No. 94.

95 Geoff Scotton

Geoff Scotton is a key member of the CSP in Calgary Zone, Mountain Division and at the national level. Since joining in 2002, he has been and continues to be active at all three levels of the CSP.

Locally he patrols on and off snow events, is an AFA and on-snow instructor, member of the CISM team, and has worked as a member and chair of the Calgary New & Used Ski Sale, a significant fundraiser for the three charitable groups involved. It is now Canada’s largest new and used snow equipment retail event. It should be noted that Geoff led the way in reaching the $1 million revenue mark in 2014, increasing yearly with the total now at $1.7 million.

At the division level, Geoff is the Mountain Division VP external looking after its website and Facebook page and he manages relationships with the Canada West Ski Areas Association, Alberta WCB, and Volunteer Alberta.

As the Mountain Division Ski Improvement Clinic organizer, Geoff helps members and zones across the country. He networks with partners and promotes our organization and brand with the event. Clinic attendance numbers have grown eight-fold under his leadership. It continues to sell out year after year, prompting Geoff to add a second and then a third week for members to register due to increasing popularity. This clinic has many patroller participants but is also a great marketing and recruitment tool for our organization.

At the national level, Geoff’s influence is seen on a daily basis. As the national VP of brand and partners (communications), Geoff was instrumental in developing and expanding the CSP brand nationwide. He created a framework for information sharing that was crucial in building relationships with brand partners. His efforts ensured consistency in messaging and media, providing templates that are still used today for internal and external communications. He guided zones and divisions on proper logo and messaging usage in social media, maintaining brand consistency. He modernized internal communication methods, transforming the newsletter into the 5/5. He also helped the CSP comply with new media regulations and federal anti-spam laws. He continues to work within the communications portfolio as contributor and copy editor of English text articles.

As an agent of change, Geoff led the transition to the new CSP brand, featuring red and white colours and a new logo, making the organization instantly recognizable at snow resorts and community events. He demonstrated exemplary leadership with an open-door policy, revitalizing several areas within the CSP, including restructuring the Pro Deals program in collaboration with Michael Hewett, creating a framework to track orders, establish accountability, and ensure supplier satisfaction. This restructuring positively impacted the organization’s operations and member support.

Moreover, Geoff has expanded the CSP’s presence within the ski industry by cultivating a network of suppliers, resort partners, and event groups. He was integral to the CSP’s introduction at Panorama Mountain Resort and reintroduction at Sunshine Village Resort.

Geoff has also led other national-level programs, renewing the CSP’s Recruitment Handbook and developing and popularizing its Retention Blueprint. He currently works as a copy editor for education materials and exams. And there is much, much more that he very quietly does behind the scenes to ensure matters are completed appropriately.

Geoff Scotton’s journey with the Canadian Ski Patrol is a testament to his exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication. His contributions have been pivotal in shaping the organization’s professional image, fostering robust partnerships, and inspiring both current and future leaders within the CSP.

Geoff’s work within our organization is still beyond standard expectations, as it has been for many years; if we are lucky, it will continue for years to come.

For this and so many more reasons, the CSP honoured Geoff as Life Member No. 95 in September 2024. Congratulations!

96 Greg McCormick

Greg McCormick hails from Confederation Zone in Prince Edward Island. He has been and continues to be an integral part of the CSP for more than 25 years at all levels.

He is an on snow and AFA instructor and CISM team member at his resort. He has served at the division level including as training officer (a thankless task) for Atlantic West Division before moving to the national level where he made the biggest impact.

Greg’s forte lies in team building, technology implementation, website development and design, and data storage. He is also highly skilled in crisis communications.

As the national VP of brand and partners (communications), Greg was instrumental in leading development of our national websites and communication; expanding the CSP brand nationwide. He created a framework for information sharing crucial in building relationships with brand partners. His efforts ensured consistency in website layout and brand colours and typefaces, messaging and media, providing templates we use today for internal and external communications. Under his tenure the Patrol Bulletin and Need to Know newsletters were added, each targeted to particular groups within the CSP.

In his capacity as vice-president, he led the execution of the last in-person national annual conference, ensuring that all other portfolio teams were coordinated, as well as managing logistical details and presentations were reflective of the leadership.

Greg also oversaw and coordinated the review of the national awards program, development of the new recognition program, and selected the new committee chair, all during his tenure as a member of the national management committee.

He was heavily involved with the transition of our uniform to the red and white colours. He helped to structure the new sponsorship contract with Helly Hansen as our current uniform provider.

Most recently, once the decision to create a new data system to support the membership data stored in the national database system (NDS) Greg worked on the new member database (Yeti) to address challenges and before the data in the NDS was lost. His work has ensured that the CSP is prepared to navigate future needs without loss of the CSP’s legacy documents and he continues to work closely to evolve features with our service provider. In this capacity he has fielded innumerable emails and calls since its implementation.

Greg leads by example and with warmth. He considers the bigger picture when proposing ideas or executing projects; his ability to focus yet see the layers continues to benefit all projects past and present he has been involved in. He lives the CSP values daily.

Greg was also recognized by the CSP at the AGM in September of last year with Life Member Award No. 96. Well and truly deserved.

97 Fred Haight

Fred Haight started his CSP career in 1976 in Central Zone where he patrolled for 13 seasons. He then relocated to Calgary Zone where he patrolled for another 10 seasons before moving to his current home at Sun Peaks Resort in Intermountain Zone, thus making extensive contributions in three different divisions.

Fred is the recipient of multiple awards recognizing his outstanding contributions across the CSP and he also holds a John D. Harper Lifesaving award for saving a neighbour who experienced respiratory arrest during an allergic reaction.

At the national level, Fred was a member of the organizing team, host and presenter for the FIPS Congress held in 2014 at Big White. As big a challenge as that would have been on its own, there was an added wrinkle in that the original host site backed a few months before the congress, necessitating a change in venue and all the logistical amendments that arose.

In 2017 he was elected to the national board of directors, subsequently re-elected for another term for his broad understanding of the organization, resort partner operations and needs across the country. His wide perspective coupled with his contacts within the ski industry allow him to present perspectives on issues that others may not have experienced. He served as vice-chair, chair and member of the governance committee, and member of the compensation review committee during his tenure.

Fred has held multiple roles within the ski racing community as well including appointment as chief of patrol for the Vancouver Para-Olympic test event in 2009 and chief of patrol for the 2010 Paralympic Games. He was also appointed as backup to the chief of patrol for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. In 2023, he was appointed chief of patrol for the NORAM finals held at Whistler, B.C. These appointments were in recognition of his international reputation in the ski racing community for expertise in ski patrolling, medical team building, and on hill rescue management skills.

Fred has also contributed to a variety of initiatives that have led to the improvement of the CSP and brought outside recognition to it. Some of these contributions include:

• 2001 – Racer Down Response protocol which ensures on course athlete and responding patrollers’ safety. This protocol was adopted for the International Ski Federation (FIS) for international ski races and is applied extensively across Canada by CSP patroller teams at local ski races.

• 2010 – Vancouver Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games – see above

• 2011 – CSP First Aid Manual, Persons with Disabilities chapter – Fred took his experience and understanding of Paralympic athlete conditions to contribute as a co-author of the chapter on persons with disabilities in the AFA manual which has better prepared CSP patrollers to respond to and support persons with disabilities that they may encounter while patrolling.

• 2014 – FIPS Congress, Big White – see above. At the congress Fred served as host and presented a meeting paper on the Canadian-developed racer down protocol.

Fred has been a leader and builder of the CSP throughout his career and across the country, and in the ski racing community as well. As a patroller he consistently exceeds his home resort’s commitment for patrol days each season, He’s known to be there, especially when the roster is thin and when the resort requires additional staffing support for hill preparation, maintenance or coverage for special events.

In the words of his nominator for this award, “The CSP can be thankful that Fred Haight chose to devote a lifetime of volunteer service through the CSP. Through his example, he has created a service standard that has inspired many of the people that he has touched to raise their own standard of commitment to the organization and public service. This legacy as a ‘builder’ is fully aligned with our founder, Douglas Firth’s principles and intentions for the organization.”

In 2024 the CSP recognized Fred’s outstanding and long-time contribution as a builder of the system as Life Member No. 97. Congratulations and well done.