News and Information about the People and Programs of SFL International
Skiing. Sharing. Learning
The mission of Ski for Light is to enhance the quality of life and independence of visually or mobility-impaired adults through a program of cross country skiing.
By Scott McCall
Hello Ski for Light friends,
It is an honor to serve as your new President and I pledge to work diligently to continue the tradition of effective leadership and competent management for this outstanding organization. While skiing is our primary focus, the intangibles that we take away from each event have positive and long-lasting influences on our lives.
As a participant in SFL for more than thirty years, my life has truly been enriched by these intangibles. Casual acquaintances have grown into life-long dear friends. Numerous opportunities to work with and learn from so many dedicated individuals have been instrumental in my professional and personal growth. This experience of working with hundreds of dedicated volunteers has helped me better understand the meaning of teamwork and sharing with others.
Along with these and numerous other benefits, SFL has given me opportunities to participate in a vigorous outdoor activity and friendly and spirited competition. My desire to improve my skiing each year continues to motivate me to stay active throughout the year and strive to maintain good health. Truly, Ski for Light is an organization that touches lives.
As we prepare to celebrate the fortieth SFL International week in 2015, it's important to remember and honor our heritage.
Olav Pedersen had a vision and he inspired volunteers in Colorado and in Norway to join with him and bring the Ridderrenn concept from Norway to this country, and in 1975, Ski for Light was born.
Over the past forty years, thousands of individuals have volunteered and participated at every level to create this outstanding organization. Human capital is truly our greatest resource and every person in the SFL community has a role to play in advancing Olav's vision.
As an all-volunteer organization, Ski for Light depends on members of the Executive Committee, Board , and our general community to accomplish work throughout the year. Immediate past President Marion Elmquist has provided outstanding leadership for the past six years.
Under Marion's guidance, SFL has achieved a strong financial position. However, because our fundraising subsidizes each person who attends our international event and supports general operations, we must raise money each year to continue this important work. One of my goals is to expand our donor base and increase our financial support. In other words, money is the fuel that feeds the SFL engine and we must replenish the fuel each year.
A second goal is to continue to improve all aspects of our skiing program. This will include emphasis on technique sessions for beginner and intermediate skiers, refresher training for experienced guides, and opportunities for participants to learn from one another.
A third goal is to enhance the relationship between regional programs and the International organization. I believe that this can help us accomplish a broader goal of recruiting new participants and guides.
Over the next year, each goal will be addressed by the appropriate Board committee.
I welcome your input on how we can best achieve these goals as well as other ideas for making a good thing better. My email address is ScottMcCall3@comcast.net. .
As a result of board and officer elections held earlier this year, we have four new members of the Executive committee and six new members of our board of directors. I enthusiastically welcome these new members and genuinely thank those leaving the executive committee and board for many years of dedicated service to SFL.
I look forward to seeing many of you as we celebrate our fortieth SFL International in 2015 in Granby Colorado.
You can learn more about Olav's vision and SFL's history by visiting our website, www.sfl.org.
Wishing all a happy spring.
By Peter Slatin
It's not about the carrot cake.
I say, keep it coming - we can take it.
After all, there are worse things than being served carrot cake for dessert four nights in a row. Like having no Olav Pedersen Race & Rally. That was a bummer for sure at the 39th Ski for Light International Week in Anchorage. But it was borne with the truly positive, all-embracing spirit that is Ski for Light, and that reminds us that the only true disappointment would be to have no Ski for Light at all.
That's clearly not an option as we hurtle toward the amazing milestone of our 40th Annual Week next year in Granby, Colorado. But before we get there, let's look back at Anchorage.
This was SFL's third meeting in Anchorage and the first since 2003 - and this time, though the snow was somewhat more sparse than we would have wanted, there was enough of it for every day except Friday. Saturday, we all joined in watching the ceremonial start of the Iditarod - the Last Great Race on Earth!
All winter long, as massive amounts of snow and blasts of frigid air enveloped the Midwest and Northeast, sightings of winter weather had been rare in Anchorage; it seemed that the 2014 SFL international Week might suffer the bizarre, climate-change adjacent happenstance of a second winter in the Last Frontier with negligible snow. But that was not the case. There was just enough snow on the ground at the fabulously groomed Kincaid Park to allow for some of the finest tracks many SFLers - including this one - have ever skied in.
The week started on an auspicious note; our first day out was a treat, with those crisp and mostly gentle 5- and 10K trails so gracefully designed and groomed. That was repeated over the next three days. But each day was a bit warmer, culminating with a Thursday night meltdown that forced the Race/Rally cancellation on Friday - only the second time in SFL's 39 years that the race had to be surrendered.
Indeed on Thursday, while the Northeast and Midwest shivered, the temperature in Anchorage reached a startling 49 degrees Fahrenheit - a record for that day - and overnight, the ski area where our race and rally were to take place became an icy swimming pool. Overnight, though, saw a super freeze, and the calls started coming in to our trail masters in the wee hours of Friday morning. Even before the sun rose, some of SFL's best skiers went to check out the course, and found it a practically un-skiable sheet of glass. The Planning Committee, which had been meeting every morning throughout the week at 7 am to make sure the days flowed smoothly, held off until mid-morning before deciding to cancel the event; it had been hoped that the warming sun would make the trails safe for skiing. That did not happen, and as each bus arrived at the Nordic Center at Kincaid Park, our great ski venue for the week, Event Chair Nancy McKinney boarded and gently explained the situation.
Was it disappointing? Of course - but Ski for Light took it in stride and grabbed the opportunity to turn the day around. There were various events, including a walking tour of downtown Anchorage led by John Soucheray. Of course, if the race had been held on its traditional Saturday, the terrific groomers at Kincaid would likely have been able to set new trails, because below-freezing temps returned in time for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. Ski for Lighters turned out in force to watch the 60-plus teams of dogs and mushers - and their starting companion riders, including first-time Ski for Light guide Ingrid O'Connor, who accompanied Norway's Joar Leifseth Ulsom, as they set off along a main street in Anchorage on their grueling trek. Some of us were patient enough to wait in line for the hand-made doughnuts and reindeer sausage sandwiches that some enterprising souls were offering up to long lines of hungry spectators, as the cheery - and bleary - voices of the play-by-play broadcasters wafted out over the crowd. Ingrid, a first-time guide from New Jersey and the sister of veteran guide Sonja Baker, got to take her seat on the sled after winning a fiercely competitive raffle at Ski for Light that netted more than $2,000. Along with riding at the start of the race, Ingrid and a few guests went to a special lunch with all the mushers and got to meet many of the dogs, a privilege many guide dog users would have given their canines for (teeth, that is).
It wasn't all just great daytime skiing. Our evenings were full, from a lovely concert given by local hero Hobo Jim to a raucous Polka Night to a sleigh ride and an open mike at a local pub that featured yet another blowzy performance from Andrea Goddard, among others. Special interest sessions, the Silent Auction, and a tearful award ceremony on Banquet Night with very special honors going to Harald Vik were powerful highlights of the week.
Other honorees on Banquet Night included first -time guide Josh Russell of Seattle and first-time skier Eliza Cooper of Brooklyn, each of whom gave heartfelt speeches declaring that they will be back at Ski for Light. Lucy Zapata of Arizona was the first-time skier who was awarded a complete set of skis, poles and boots as the 2014 Jan Haug Award winner. We know this engaging and dedicated young woman will be back as well.
Bjørg Dunlop - who has been back many, many times and has devoted untold hours to Ski for Light - including helping to assemble this Bulletin three times a year - took home the coveted Bjarne Eikevik President's Award, which has taken up temporary residence in her upstate New York home until it finds a deserving new home next year.
As Ski for Light's newly installed president, Scott McCall, notes in his message earlier in this bulletin, this year marked Marion Elmquist's final year as president. We are grateful - and better off - for her wonderful contributions in this role, and we are pleased that she will continue to be an invaluable member of the Ski for Light family. She will also be an invaluable resource for Scott as he embarks on this, his second tour in this important role. We wish them both all the best.
By Joan Holcombe
It was a sight many Ski for Lighters are happy not to have beheld: a collection of male specimens, claim them or not - of varying body type and all of great heart - braving the chill of an Anchorage winter and a throng of Iditarod hooligans to streak down the main street of Anchorage chased by horned wild beasts and wearing far less than any sane person would choose to don when venturing out onto an Alaskan thoroughfare in bitterest winter.
These brave, semi-nude chumps participated in Anchorage's answer to Pamplona's running of the bulls - the Running of the Reindeer, an event marked by long tradition that takes place each year after the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, itself a wonderful spectacle.
Our scantily clad horde ran before the well-racked herd of a dozen or so critters as they plodded along the snow-covered streets (by snowplow and shovel, that is, due to a skimpy donation from Mother Nature).
These warm souls - and their freezing soles - did not undertake this challenge out of simple pride or vanity. No, along with those standard attributes, add in more than a healthy dose of altruism: they raised $2,015 for Ski for Light (thanks to the final 10 cents donated by our very own Nino Pacini), to help toward future stipends and event costs to benefit all of us when we gather in Colorado next year for the 40th Annual Ski for Light International.
How dared they, you ask? Well, that is a story and a half! It all began with a few normally proper SFL men ogling over the racy brochure advertising this most racy event - complete with a well-buffed group clad in their speedos, throwing down a challenge! With only a bare hesitation, one of the oglers, Bob Civiak by name, confidently announced (assuming it would never happen) that if SFL could raise $2,000 he would run in his very own Speedo (or something comparable). Well, give Nancy Dunn and Joan Holcombe a challenge like that (especially under the influences of an adult beverage or two, plus the after-glow from a day on the trails at Kincaid Park), and we were off. After four days of announcements, pleadings, cavorting, begging, and storming the dining hall for cash of any kind, our team was assembled: nine go-to guys in the final draft equipped majestically in their varied garb, ready to run before thousands of spectators, and taking their lives in their drawers. It was a proud moment - one of much good cheer and many smiles for all. Thanks to all who supported them (and SFL)! Let us savor the memory... or shed it if you must!
During the 39th Annual Ski for Light International, the organization was fortunate to see a hotly contested election for several vacancies on the Board of Directors as various board members' terms expired. For those of us on the Board and indeed for the group as a whole, the eagerness of so many talented, dedicated volunteers from across the U.S. and all walks of life to participate in managing the affairs of SFL is an extremely positive sign for our continuing success and future growth. The fact that not all who stepped forward to serve could be accommodated at the board level means only that we will seek their help in other ways and on the many committees that make our annual event possible and that maintain the health and vibrancy of Ski for Light year-round. Congratulations to all who participated, and welcome to our new board members.
Officers and Directors
Ski for Light, Inc. is managed and governed by an elected Board of Directors, while the affairs of the organization are managed between meetings of the full Board by an Executive Committee of the Board.
Here is the Board roster for 2014 to 2016.
Scott McCall, President - Atlanta, Georgia
Julie Coppens, Vice President - Juneau, Alaska
Judith Dixon, Secretary - Arlington, Virginia
Brenda Seeger, Treasurer - Red Lake Falls, Minnesota
Cara Barnes, Director-at-Large - Eureka, California
Robert Civiak, Director-at-Large - Lebanon, New Hampshire
Marion Elmquist, Immediate Past President - Des Moines, Iowa
Renee Abernathy - Dallas, North Carolina
Heather Berg - Colchester, Vermont
Wendy David - Seattle, Washington
Krista Erickson - Mundelein, Illinois
David Fisk - Post Mills, Vermont
Nicole Haley - Peterborough, New Hampshire
Robert Hartt - Alexandria, Virginia
Eivind Heiberg - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ken Leghorn - Juneau, Alaska
Leslie Maclin - Evanston, Illinois
Tim McCorcle - Seattle, Washington
Bonnie O'Day - Alexandria, Virginia
Laura Oftedahl - Berkeley, California
Lawrence Povinelli - Madison, Alabama
Holly Schmaling - Delafield, Wisconsin
Larry Showalter - Seattle, Washington
Peter Slatin - New York, New York
David Sweeny - Brooklyn, New York
Leif Andol - Huron, South Dakota
Einar Bergh - Stavanger, Norway
Nancy McKinney - Seattle, Washington
Jean Replinger - Marshall, Minnesota
Marit Kristiansen - President of Sons of Norway, Minneapolis, Minnesota
This summer four of the nine SFL Regional affiliates are offering fun outdoor activities and programs.
New England Regional Ski for Light has hiking and Outdoor Fun at the Royalty Inn in Gorham, New Hampshire. The dates are July 25 - 27, 2014.
Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Sports for Health is offering a variety of outdoor activities at Scott's Family Resort on Oquaga Lake in Deposit, New York. The dates are July 27 - August 3, 2014.
Black Hills Regional Ski for Light has boating, fishing, fun in the sun, campfires and SFL camaraderie at Camp Bob Marshall in Custer, South Dakota. The dates are August 22 - 24, 2014
Montana Regional Ski for Light is offering Trekk for Light Montana in The Little Belt Mountains in Lewistown/Greatfalls, Montana. Three separate day hikes, returning each evening to the cabin which serves as base camp. The dates are August 25 - 29, 2014
For additional information about each of these programs please visit the Regional Round-Up page on the SFL website. Also consult the website from time to time to learn the details of next winter's activities for all nine affiliates.
Our thanks go to the following companies that have provided products or services to help support Ski for Light. Many of these companies have stood behind us for years - and we're grateful. Be sure to think of our friends when you're gearing up for your next adventure.
* JanSport * Acorn * Blue Ridge Chair Works * Camelbak * Clif Bar * Columbia * Crazy Creek * Cross Country Skier Magazine * Dansko * Eagle Creek * Darn Tough Socks * Fox River Mills * Honey Stinger * Hydro Flask * Kuhl * Leki * Live Eyewear * Olly Dog * Patagonia * PeakWaggers * Peppers Polarized Eyewear * Petmate * Ruffwear * Sierra Designs * SportHill * Toko US
Editor: Peter Slatin
Layout and graphics: Bjorg Dunlop
Electronic version: Larry Showalter
Special thanks to: Fram Lodge #3-564, Sons of Norway
The SFL Bulletin is published three times a year. It is available in ink-print or via e-mail. If you wish to change formats, please send your request to: bulletin@sfl.org.
The current as well as past issues of the Bulletin are also available online at www.sfl.org/bulletin.html. In addition to an online edition that may be read in your browser, you will find a downloadable pdf version of the current issue.
For future Bulletins, remember that your contributions and feedback are always most welcome. You may submit articles as e-mail or as a word attachment; if you do not have e-mail, you may send a typed article through the mail. Send all items to:
Peter Slatin
255 West 108th Street, Apt. 8A-1
New York, NY 10025
The deadline for the Summer 2014 Bulletin is July 1, 2014. We look forward to hearing from you.
Ski for Light, Inc. is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.
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