PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS

Past winners have been Pat Gilmar, described as a “single-track mastermind, a visionary dude who toils at the crossroads between science and sickness, philanthropy and funk, radness and madness”. (Kootenay Culture Magazine). He has been at the forefront of shepherding the Elk Valley Ski Touring Association into the Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club into the Fernie Trails Alliance. He has sat at the bargaining table of the Southern Rocky Mountain Management Plan and been a member of the Southern Rocky Mountain Advisory committee overseeing our playground and making sure our best interests are represented at all levels of government. He not only is a multi-time race finisher but actually helps to design and deliver the Transrockies Mountain Bike Race. If you have ridden Verboten, Old Goat, or Snake Bite or have ventured onto Hyperventilation or further onto the Porcupine Rim trail then you have seen a portion of this man’s passion. His motto is “If you build it, you’d better maintain it’.

And last year Heiko Socher won the award. "Heiko and Linda Socher are cornerstone's of our community. Not only were they integral in building our ski hill from a T-bar operation in 1966 to the Fernie Snow Valley we all know and remember, they have also had a direct positive influence on Fernie's growth in a broad range of areas. They support and encourage others in our community to do the same, and are inspirational to say the least."