Showing 24 results

authority records
Director

Williams, Bill

  • CA-BC-WB001
  • fl. 1990-2010

Bill Williams, also known as Telalsemkin siyam, is one of sixteen hereditary chiefs of the Squamish Nation. He is very politically active in his community and has held many positions on the Squamish Nation Council including Recreation Director, Councilor, and Band Manager. Formerly he worked as an Aboriginal Management Consultant to various organizations such as Canada Employment and Immigration, the Native Brotherhood of BC, and the BC Native Socio-Economic Task Force. He is one of the original trustees of the Aboriginal Electoral Endowment Trust, and was appointed as its representative on the National Revenue Committee. He has also served as a Director of Administration of the Assembly of First Nations, and as a member of the National Executive of the Aboriginal People's Commission.

Williams is a co-founder of the Uts'am Witness Project, which reconnects urban residents with nature and invites them to participate in a Coast Salish witness ceremony. He is also a member of the Spakwus Slolem, or Eagle Song Dancers.

Walker, Chelsey

  • CA-BC-WC001
  • Person
  • fl. 1980-present

Chelsey Walker is a former champion skier and the current executive director of the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program. She moved to the West Coast with her family in 1980 and started ski racing with the Blackcomb Ski Club the following year as part of the first Nancy Greene Ski League. In 1989 she moved up to Whistler full-time in order to attend the Ski Academy at Pemberton Secondary School. Following her racing career, she worked for five and a half years as a guide and assistant with Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing at Blue River, BC.

In 2005 Walker became the Executive Director of the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP). In this role, she presented at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and contributed to the 2010 Paralympics through WASP's partnership with the Whistler 2010 Sports Legacies Society, the Whistler Athletes' Centre and the Jeff Harbers Adaptive Sports Centre. In 2011, she received a nomination for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Health and Active Living Category. Walker has also been Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pemberton Children's Center since 2015.

Wackernagel, Dr. Mathis

  • CH-WM001
  • Person
  • November 10, 1962-

Dr. Mathis Wackernagel is a Swiss-born sustainability advocate and the creator of the 'ecological footprint' concept. In January 2002, he gave a talk for the AWARE Speaker Series in Whistler.

Wackernagel has a degree in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia. He has served as the director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in California (1999-2003), director of the Centre for Sustainability Studies in Mexico (1995-2001), and adjunct faculty at SAGE of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004) and is currently the President of the Global Footprint Network. Wackernagel has received many honours and awards for his work, including being named by The (En)Rich List as the 19th (out of 100) most inspirational individual contributing to sustainability.

Sloan, David

  • CA-BC-SD001
  • Person
  • [d. August 9, 1935]

David Sloan, the Managing Director of Bralorne’s Pioneer Mines, was a passenger in the plane crash that killed the Brocks and pilot McCluskey. He survived the initial crash in critical condition. Sloan was rushed to Rainbow Lodge, then by rail to Squamish and from there by speedboat to the Vancouver General Hospital. Sadly, he died about 10 days later of his injuries.

Roberts, Gordon

  • CA-BC-RG001
  • Person
  • fl. [1967]-present

Gordon Roberts is a Vancouver actor, singer, dancer, accompanist, director and musician with over 50 years of experience in Canada and the U.S. He performed on Blackcomb Mountain in the Whistler Summer Theatre circa 1995 (appearing in The Three Bears and Little Shop of Horrors) and again in SNOW - Whistler: The Musical around 2009. His other acting credits include Fiddler on the Roof, King Arthur’s Kitchen, Honk!, Evita, The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, Oklahoma, My Fair lady, and Little Women.

Rhodes, Mitch

  • CA-BC-RM001
  • Person
  • fl. 1995-2015

Mitchell 'Mitch' Rhodes was a member of AWARE (Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment) from 1999 to 2004, serving as vice-president, president, and treasurer. Between 2003 and 2009 he provided first aid, transport, and rescue services on Whistler-Blackcomb mountains. He also served as a committee member for the Whistler 2020 Economic Task Force (2008-2009), a panelist in green filmmaking at the 2007 Whistler Film Festival, an advisory committee member of the Community Foundation of Whistler Environmental Legacy Fund (2001-2004), a director of the Whistler Center for Sustainability (2001-2004), and treasurer of the Whistler Health Care Foundation (1998-2003). He currently works for the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

Quinlan, Chris

  • CA-BC-QC001
  • Person
  • fl. 1991-present

Christopher 'Chris' Quinlan grew up on the B.C. coast and worked in a logging camp before moving to Whistler in 1991 to enter the food and beverage industry. He held several jobs, including driving buses and working in restaurants, before becoming the founding president of the Restaurant Association of Whistler and helping develop the Restaurants of Whistler Dining Guide.

Quinlan has served on City Council and in the Chamber of Commerce, sat as vice-chair of the Whistler Housing Authority, and been the morning show host for 101.5 Whistler FM. Since 2009, he has been the director of the Whistler Center for Sustainability. From 2010 to 2018, he was the manager of the Whistler Farmer's Market. He went on to develop a successful Sea to Sky Farmer's Market collaboration and to found the website Marketwurks.com, which helps marketplace managers to process vendor applications.

Princic, Lisa

  • CA-BC-PL002
  • Person
  • fl. 2002

Lisa Pricnic was the Director of AWARE (Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment) in 2002. She attended the Smart Growth BC Conference in May 2000 and C-ClARN (Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resource Network) Conference in Vancouver in November of the same year.

Podborski, Steve

  • CA-ON-PS001
  • Person
  • b. July 25, 1957

Steven 'Steve' Gregory Podborski is a former downhill ski racer and member of the 'Crazy Canucks.' Born in Toronto, Ontario, Podborski started skiing at two-and-a-half years old at Craigleith Ski Club. He joined the Canadian alpine ski team in 1973 and made his World Cup debut the following year at the age of 17, scoring two top ten finishes in his first season. He made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, winning the bronze medal at the downhill; he had planned to debut at the previous Games but been forced to cancel due to a knee injury. His third-place win at the Games made him the only Crazy Canuck ever to win an Olympic medal, as well as the first North American man to do so in the downhill. In 1982, he became the first North American to win the World Cup season title in downhill skiing. In total, he won 8 World Cup downhill races (including the famously difficult Hahenkamm race, twice) and finished within the top 10 in 34 more. He retired after the 1984 season.

After retiring, Podborski continued to contribute to the sports world. He covered snowboarding for Olympics on CBS in 1998, cycling and Tae Kwon Do for NBC in 2000, and freestyle skiing for NBC in 2002 and 2006, and commented on three Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Whistler/Vancouver 2010). He was on the bid committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics, responsible for international relations. He was named Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi (2014). He worked for Telus from 2003 to 2017, achieving the position of National Director, Community Sports. In June 2017, he became President and CEO of Parachute, an organization focusing on injury prevention in sports.

Podborski has received many honours, including the Order of Canada in 1982, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985, the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1986, the Canadian Sport Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Ontario Sport Hall of Fame in 1987.

Murray, Dave

  • CA-BC-MD003
  • Person
  • September 9, 1953 - October 23, 1990

David 'Dave' Murray was a Canadian alpine ski racer, a member of the Crazy Canucks, and a pivotal figure in Whistler's ski history. Born in Vancouver, Murray first took up ski racing at age 15 and joined the Canadian National Ski Team at 21 in 1974. He was one of the three founding members of the Crazy Canucks (along with fellow ski racers 'Jungle' Jim Hunter and Dave Irwin) and reportedly acted as the moderator and "conscience" of the group, according to teammate Steve Podborski. Murray participated in two Olympic Games - at Innsbruck in 1976 and Lake Placid in 1980, at which he finished tenth in the downhill - and three FIS World Championships (1974, 1978, and 1982). He competed on the FIS World Circuit for six years. Although Murray never won a World Cup event, he finished in the top ten 15 times, four of these being in his best season (1975/76). He was ranked first place overall in the 1979 Shell Cup Canadian National Championships, and won second place in the 1977 Shell Cup Giant Slalom, the 1978 FIS World Cup Downhills at Les Houches and Schladming, and the 1979 and 1981 Canadian National Championships Downhill. He was named BC Athlete of the Year in 1979.

Following the 1981/82 season, Murray retired from competitive skiing and returned to British Columbia. He became the director of skiing at Whistler-Blackcomb, founding the world-renowned Dave Murray Ski School in 1988. He headed the newly-christened Dave Murray Summer Ski Camps (replacing the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps) from 1984 until his death in 1990, coaching children and youth aged 10-18 on Whistler Glacier. He also headed Masters camps for adults. In addition, Murray became National Chair of the Canadian Masters Alpine Series, served as a Level III Coach for the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation and a Level III Instructor for the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, and acted as a product consultant and spokesperson for many companies involved in the ski industry. In 1985, he was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.

Dave Murray tragically died from skin cancer in Vancouver at the age of 37. He was survived by his wife, Stephanie Sloan, a freestyle skiing pioneer and world champion, and 22-month-old daughter, Julia. Sloan continued running the Dave Murray Summer Ski Camps throughout the 1990s, while Julia grew up to join Canada's Ski Cross Team and Compete at the 2010 Olympics. Dave Murray was honoured with induction into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. The downhill course on Whistler Mountain was named in his memory in April 1991; it hosted World Cup Downhill and Super-G races from 1993 to 1995, was used for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and is noted as being among the best downhill runs in the world.

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