Pessoa

Janyk, Andree Suzanne

• Vajda, Andree

March 9, 1949 - June 16, 2017

Andrée Vajda Janyk was a Whistler councillor, school trustee, skier, ski coach, and volunteer who won numerous awards for her dedicated service to the Whistler community. Born March 9, 1949 in North Vancouver to parents Francis and Peter Vajda, Andrée was their first born, followed by two brothers, Chris and Stephen. Growing up in Delbrook, she enjoyed running track and field and ski racing with the Tyee Ski Club on Grouse Mountain. She eventually skied with the Canadian National Alpine Ski Team and went on to serve as a ski coach, a founding member of the Blackcomb Ski Club and a volunteer for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. She pursued a degree in kinesiology from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and a Master's in kinesiology from the University of Brussels (she lived in Belgium for six years). She married Bill Janyk in 1979, and they had three children: Britt, Michael, and Stephanie. Two of her children, Britt and Mike, became Olympic skiers. The family lived in West Vancouver, where she went to work in the community: starting an organic food co-op out of her home, coaching the local soccer teams, and actively engaging with the school board. She was a strong advocate for health and fitness, leading the first Fitness Leadership Certificate Program at Capilano University, serving on the national First Summit on Fitness Committee, and running a food co-op to promote eating organically. In 1995, Andrée and the family moved to Whistler. Within a year she was elected as a school trustee, where she served twelve years in the late 1990s and 2000s, pushing for a more student-centered learning model during the reorganization of School District 48. She was also instrumental in the growth of youth soccer in Whistler, founding the Whistler Youth Soccer Club with her friend, Bob Calladine. As a member of the Whistler Weasel Workers she became Chief of Slippers for the Women’s Alpine events during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2011, she was elected to the Resort Municipality of Whistler's town council for a three-year term, then re-elected in 2014. One of her most important achievements during this time was the creation of the Recreation and Leisure Advisory Committee, for which she served as the Council's first ever appointee. In 2015, she was diagnosed with cancer. She was still serving on Council at the time of her death from cancer on June 16, 2017 at the age of 68. Janyk received many honours, including being named the Whistler Cup Volunteer of the Year, BC Alpine Volunteer of the Year, and Sport BC Community Hero. In 2010, she was crowned Whistler's Citizen of the Year. The Andrée Vajda Janyk Sports Field at Cheakamus Crossing was named in her memory in 2018.

North Vancouver
Vancouver
Brussels, Belgium
West Vancouver
Whistler

Alderwoman
Alpine ski racer
Ski coach
Volunteer
School trustee
Soccer coach
Soccer referee

Janyk, Britt (May 21, 1980 -)

Janyk, Michael (March 22, 1982 -)

Janyk, Bill (fl. 1960s-)

CA-BC-JA001

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued March 2019.
Revised December 2022.

1) Archival material
2) https://www.whistler.ca/media/news/dedication-ceremony-be-held-andree-vajda-janyk-sports-field
3) https://www.whistlerquestion.com/news/local-news/community-mourns-andr%C3%A9e-janyk-1.20674978
4) https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/whistler-remembers-andree-janyk/Content?oid=3715216
5) https://www.facebook.com/events/fairmont-chateau-whistler/celebration-of-life-for-andree-vajda-janyk/309203576207260/