It’s absolutely phenomenal what kinds of things   people can accomplish when there is passion involved.  We’re so fortunate at our club to have created such a strong community which is fueled by the passion for Otway which has a very special place in people’s hearts.   It is this kind of spirit that exists here that motivates individuals to want to do more and inspires other to get involved.  With such positive role models that exist here at Otway, it’s simply contagious and you can’t help but want to be part of something great.   When you come to Otway, summer or winter, morning or evening, there is one person that is always there with a beaming, welcoming smile, and a character that immediately welcomes you as part of the Otway family.  Rudy Kamstra is almost everywhere at Otway all the time whether it’s greeting new skiers near the lodge, skiing out on the trails, working on the trails, running machinery, volunteering for every event, building picnic tables that are works of art, and always finding a away to create new adventures and exciting experience for our youngest little skiers.  The amount of heart and soul that Rudy has poured into Otway is immense, and we see the dividends of this everyday as the heart of Otway becomes bigger and stronger.     It is such a pleasure be part of a club with such great individuals and role models such as Rudy.  You quite literally inspire new generations who are the future of our club.   I am incredibly honored to be able to recognize and present Rudy the Spirit of Dedication Award on behalf of the entire membership of the Club.  

Thank you so much Rudy!   Presented by Kevin Pettersen,  President Caledonia Nordic Ski Club October 24, 2013

It often starts with a casual question to volunteer or a vision to give your kids healthy start to life. It might not seem like anything at the time, but these are the beginnings of what is so vital to growing a strong, successful and nurturing club such as ours. It is this contagious passion that undeniably takes hold and inspires phenomenal efforts. It is this transformational process that inspires new generations of volunteers and propels the Club to achieve new heights. Mary Duck exemplifies these qualities. Not only did she provide her children with an early start to an active and healthy life style (which is indeed a gift for life), but she became immersed in the club as both a parent and a volunteer. Through these efforts and dedication to our club, Mary continues to have an integral role in shaping the positive culture and direction of the club. When the club has taken on ambitious work and projects, Mary is front and centre and one of the first to volunteer. Whether it be playing a critical role in the organization of the 2005 Cross Country Nationals, being a fundamental cornerstone on the Club board as our long standing Secretary, shaping the new structure of the club through strategic planning, or filling critical position of Race co-Secretary that for the events (2013 BC Championships, 2014 Western Canadian Championships) that will take us to the 2015 Canada Winter Games and beyond, Mary's level of dedication, tenacity and achievement are what strengthens the cultural fabric of our club and provides an tremendously positive example that we all can aspire to. it is with such pleasure to be able to recognize and honour Mary's spirit of dedication by presenting her with this award on behalf of the entire membership of the Club.

Thank you so much Mary! Presented by Kevin Pettersen, President, Caledonia Nordic Ski Club October 25, 2012

Jim’s contributions include:

• Head Coach of the Junior Racers in the 1990’s and CNSC enjoyed a very robust cross country racing crowd. He even took his team to Norway one year.
• Director of Competitions on Board of Directors
• Certified CCBC official & zone representative and has spent countless hours organizing competitions, recruiting volunteers, acquiring and upgrading equipment needed to run high level competitions and training volunteers to run the timing equipment
• Facilitates cooperation and collaboration amongst ski club at all levels
• Led the Club in purchasing a woodlot, with the intention that the woodlot would help to provide a steady annual income in the years to come and for this reason the Club enjoys a very healthy financial position
• Inspirational to young athletes, was very fair and very calm, and made the practices challenging and fun
• Organizing force of local cross country competitions (BC Cup race)
• Volunteered in 2010 for the Vancouver Olympics then shared gained knowledge and skills within the club and with other clubs
• Authored the 2011 CNSC Strategic Plan document (the club's "guiding light")
• Contributed significant time and effort toward the preparation of the 2015 Canada Winter Games bid on behalf of the club
• Driving force behind the push for a regional training centre (RTC) initiative (as a long term legacy from the 2015 CWG)
• Contributed significant time and effort toward the new Biathlon Range placement and new trails for competitions
• Kept the Board focused on the timelines required to have our facility ready for the 2015 Canadian Winter Games, in spite of the setbacks and unexpected developments within the 2015 City CWG Planning Committee
• Spent endless amounts of hours organizing and planning for facilities and trails that will be required for the 2015 CWG and long term legacies
• Spearheaded the drive for a land exchange to obtain tenure for strategic land parcels (key to trails and facilities growth and expansion).

Jim’s commitment and dedication to this Caledonia Nordic Ski Club has contributed to the success now and for the future years. We could write a book on all that he has accomplished and achieved for the Club and want to acknowledge his contribution and his devotion. Thank you Jim Burbee.

Steve has been a hard-working member of the Caledonia Nordics, sometimes in leadership positions and sometimes behind the scenes, for 20 years. His commitment to our club & to our sport demonstrates the ideal we remember with the spirit of dedication.

Steve has been a ski patroller, ski instructor and served on the executive, including a term as President. It was under his leadership that we saw the last expansion of the lit trails, and the start of the club moving to a policy manual & more formal operations.

He has organized group ski events for many years, with groups including the Chinese association, Rotary, international students from CNC & UNBC & members of the dental community. These are social events which have introduced many new members to the club.
Steve played a major role in the Ski Nationals and has resurrected the Caledonia Marathon. He is a fan of club racing, and has re-built the marathon for a new group of participants. He worked with organizers from 100 Mile, Williams Lake & Quesnel to create a northern loppet series, in an effort to bring more skiers to events. The 2009 the Caledonia Loppet had over 130 entrants.

Steve has been the ultimate volunteer for many years. Whenever a helping hand is needed, Steve is there!

Keith's nominator wrote:

Keith was extremely active and supportive of the Caledonia Club beginning in 1993-94 when he began assisting with Junior Racer coaching.
From 1994-2000 Keith attended cross country races throughout BC (at that time we had over 40 skiers in Cross Country Racers), often arriving the day before the skiers so that he could help determine and test waxes as well as prepare for the race. Many mornings he was on the trails at 6:00am to assure every skier had all the tools they needed in order to do their best.

During his term at coaching Keith could not officiate at Cross Country races but he attended as many of the CNSC Biathlon races as possible always helping out with officiating--whether it be announcing or setting up or timing or anything else he was asked to do--he also acted as one of the Otway repairmen during this time.

1995-2000 were lean years and money was hard to come by for projects yet Keith always donated his time and expertise to do things like prepare trails, repair and help construct the lighting, fix the heating system in the lodge or anything else that needed TLC. Keith was often able to use his connections and arrange donated machinery such as the use of a bobcat or a ladder truck. Many things would have never been accomplished if it wasn't for Keith's enthusiasm for making the club a better place.

Keith's involvement became an obsession leading up and during the 2005 Ski Nationals. He was either at work or at Otway during 2003-2005 (just ask his wife Heather). He played a major role in officiating as the Chief of Stadium (which he did for the 5 years of BC Cups leading up to Ski Nationals). He obtained sponsorships for much of the stadium work and equipment;as part of the organizing committee he was at every meeting for Ski Nationals; he was on the Lodge building committee and devoted time to design, construction (such as helping Jim Weed cut the timing window), and fund raising (the furnace and the well pump to name a couple of the items). He was a scavenger of fine discarded items that could be used by the club (he acquired and constructed the counters and cabinets in the First aid room, the ski rental area, and the timing room all for no cost to the club). When you needed help,"No" was not in Keith's vocabulary. If Keith said it could be done, you could be assured it would be done! Keith worked every spare moment on the race during the weeks leading up to Ski Nationals. He setup the wax trailers, ensured that the wax room floor was covered, that the facility was cleaned every day, and he even put new flooring in the Timing Room. At Nationals he had one of the most difficult jobs--how to make the stadium presentable in +15C degree weather--the effort he put in (sometimes 18 hours a day) to ensure the Caledonia Club looked as good as it could to the rest of Canada was Outstanding (from carpets through the stadium for opening ceremonies, to pumps moving the water out of the way, to walkways for officials to stand on so they didn't sink in the slush--to canoes and fishing rods when he just couldn't do anymore).

Karen's nominator wrote: Karen has been an active volunteer with the club from the time it was the Hickory Wing Club and located at the old helicopter site and at the Tabor site. She helped with trail maintenance such as the willow cutting and before we had underground wiring she was involved with clearing of windfall off trails. Track setting using the snowmobiles was a big job that she assisted with. At the Otway site she set up the trailer and with a lot of perseverance put in a well and a septic system. As the first caretaker at Otway she was a valuable presence and asset with security and PR for our club. Few people know how many night encounters with potential vandals she tactfully and firmly handled.

Karen was proud of the partnership formed with AIMHI when the club decided to have cabin workers at Otway. They helped with ticket checking, selling day passes and keeping the cabin grounds tidy and safe. The fellows' success at Otway was in many ways due to Karen's foresight and behind the scenes efforts. Karen acted as a liaison and offered direction, structure and friendship. She also bought supplies for the small coffee shop we had at the cabin for a few years. Karen was one of the Lifetime members that had faith in our club and paid $1000 so that Mike Reid's plan for a new grooming machine could be carried out. Over the years, she has done many hours of grooming with that machine, assisting Jim when he was on holidays or during races or just helping share the load. Karen is involved with long-range planning as a member of the ski club and the Miworth horse community. She believes that cooperative sharing of trails on the Greenway between UNBC and Otway is an important goal and a win-win situation for all. Karen has also been involved with the trails committee for the CNSC.

Karen has volunteered in many capacities at all our races for the last 25 years--track setting, assisting with equipment setup, or volunteering on race days. She has been a World Masters Cross Country Champion and also raced extensively at the club level for many years. Karen was always encouraging people at races and promoting the positive aspects of our club and of CC skiing. Karen has helped with the Iceman competition since its inception and for the last 16 years has been a fun member of the Ski-to-Running transition zone. Karen loves to teach skiing and has maintained a level 2 CANSI for many years. She taught at night and volunteered on the weekends. She is always encouraging people to try cc skiing and many people have learned to love the sport through her enthusiasm and skilful teaching. Some might say she gently nags and bullies and nudges you forward but she does it with such humour that we all come back for more.

Tim's nominator wrote: Tim volunteered as president of the CNSC Executive through those busy years of organizing/building for the Ski Nationals. At the same time he coached an upper level Jackrabbit group. During 2005, 2006, & 2007 he did a fantastic job of organizing the chocolate Race Series even while serving on the Executive as Past President. This guy is dedicated!
Tim became the master of the unsung tasks. "I will look after that" was often heard from Tim when something extra had to be done. In addition to working with Cal Tant on the Project Manager function during the lodge construction, Tim stayed with the project to make sure all the little things got finished after we moved into the new lodge. He got the well drilled (after two dry holes, they found water down the hill behind the equipment shed), spearheaded the landscaping around the lodge, and made sure the septic system was working. Tim also got the fire water tank installed so the fire department has 10,000 L of water available if we have a fire at the lodge.

Tim continues to be involved with helping improve the operations of club after his term as Past-President has ended.

Here is what was written about Sue on her nomination form:

"She finds it impossible to say no and always has a smile on her face, a kind word to say and an ear for your concerns. She really has taken this club, its members, and her students (young & old) to heart.
P.S. I know she is a favoured teacher— there are many requests for Sue.
This person deserves this award because of her strong commitment to the club for over 15 years and always is willing to take on tasks

• 10 years Masters Ski committee
• CANSI instructor— private lessons, group lessons, senior skiers, very involved with school ski lessons
• ski school coordinator for 3 years.
• Banquet and volunteer recognition coordinator for 2005 Ski Nationals
• Strategic Action Plan committee
• Helps organize social events including organizing the ski swap back when it was in the Knox Church basement and the old civic center.
• she was an active and very involved jackrabbit and junior racer parent in the 90's.
• Sue has been a strong proponent and leader of the elementary school ski program.
• certified Level 1 official and starter for many races.
• currently past president and has completed 2 years of vice president, 2 years as president, and now going in to her 3rd or 4th year as past president.

Cal has been a member since the mid 1980's. He began volunteering in the mid 1990's as an official for races, helper at ski swaps and trail clearing. He began serving as the Junior Racers representative on the Executive in 1997 and has served as the website manager/email distribution list representative.
Cal was responsible for building the first and second generation Caledonia Nordic websites. He was also well aware of the need for member communication and despite opposition from some club executive members promoted and formed the email distribution list which has grown to nearly 900 members.

Fund raising was always high on Cal's list. The major funding for the light expansion and upgrade was achieved through Cal's fund raising with BC Gaming. The Ski Nationals Legacy--the Rotary Nordic Lodge--was achieved through his tireless fund raising and promotion of the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. Cal also raised $3000 for trail improvements through Molson's Local Heroes. He served on the first finance committee.

Between 1996 and the mid 2000's Cal and Chris Hawkins were the driving forces behind bringing BC Cup races every year, the 2000 & 2002 Western Canadian Championships and the 2005 Nationals to Prince George. Both Chris and Cal held major positions for ten years and built a great competition and organizing committee for Olympic style events.

Cal has served on Cross Country Canada' s Events committee since 2000 and that is where he convinced the decision makers to bring the 2005 Ski Nationals to Prince George (it took 2 attempts). Cal served as Event co-chair for the Ski Nationals.

Cal also served as the top Official in BC between 2002-06 as chair of the Officials Committee for Cross Country BC.

The 2002 Spirit of Dedication Award was presented to Bruce Bennett. Here is what was written about Bruce on his nomination form:

"He deserves this award because I always see him out at Otway, helping out, coaching, encouraging skiers of all ages and abilities, running wax clinics, handing out cider at the Santa Ski, etc., etc. He has encouraged me a great deal personally, and is always full of expertise, advice, and encouragement. Plus his energy and enthusiasm are AMAZING. He is always promoting the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club through his actions and words.

He deserves this award because of his amazing enthusiasm and love for the sport of cross country skiing and the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. Whatever is going on, he seems to be involved, whether it is teaching, waxing, or on the loud speaker. He always has a smile on his face and is great with kids and adults. I have learned a lot from him."

Editor's note: Bruce has been volunteering for cross country and biathlon races for years; he has been the chief organizer for a number of the annual Skifests; he has served on the executive; he is a CANSI certified instructor and has been active with the Ski School for years; all this in addition to promoting the annual Beach party! Thanks Bruce!!

For the 2001-02 season, two outstanding individuals are being recognized for their contribution to the club - Jeremy Campbell and Fiona Coy.

Jeremy and Fiona have each received the award because, like Mike, they are involved in all aspects of the Club. They have organized cross-country and biathlon races, the adult ski camp and they participate fully in club events such as Recreation Mart, Open House and the Ski Swap. They also volunteer their time and expertise on the CNSC executive and in all fundraisers. They volunteer for trail work, range improvement and work parties. Jeremy and Fiona coach biathlon and cross-country skiing. They organize dry land training in the off-season, as well as off-season training trips to Mount Robson, Jasper and the Bowron Lakes. They have volunteered to coach cadet groups in biathlon, and have invited university students and adults to come and find out how much fun Nordic Sports can be. They are mentors for many young athletes and offer knowledgeable training plans to any youth interested. They continue to educate themselves in the latest research in coaching and athlete development. They are both working on their Level Three coaching certification. They both teach skiing with the CNSC ski school. Fiona volunteered to fill the vacant position of Vice President this year. They have just assumed the new club position of Youth Coach Coordinators and will be breaking new ground in this area.

Like Mike, they both have an enduring and deep commitment to the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. They are truly worthy recipients of the Spirit of Dedication Award.

The 4th recipient of this award, Jeff Bennett, is recognized for his untiring efforts in many areas: club executive for 15 years (including past president); ski school coordinator; club historian; and acting on numerous race committees. The Club is especially grateful for Jeff's work in creating Otway Nordic Ski Patrol. Jeff has been recognized twice nationally for his ski patrol work: receiving the 1996 National Appreciation Award & the 1999 Canadian Ski Patrol Award. Thank you Jeff for all of your efforts!

ohn has been an active member of our club since the days when we were still known as the Hickory Wing Ski Club. He began volunteering in 1988 as a ski instructor for beginner and intermediate adults and continued in this capacity for seven years. In 1989 he decided to add president to the list of things he was already doing for the ski club. During the time John held this position we saw many changes take place. Our first Piston Bully was purchased, the bid to host the Junior Nationals placed, trail preparations to homologate the 5 km and 7.5 kim trails were begun, and the mower was purchased for summer trail maintenance.

After a short break, John began a new career in 1993 as a Junior Racer's Coach. During his five years coaching he earned his CANSI Level II and NCCP Level III instructor qualifications, and left a lasting impression on the many young skiers he mentored. In 1998 John then turned his attention to the Masters/Adult Ski group, and continues to lend them his coaching expertise.
In 1995 John became more interested in trails, and what started out as a simple project became nothing short of an obsession with the stump grinder and mower!! For the next three years John developed an intimate relationship with every stump on our trail system. It is directly because of John and his crew's efforts that we can ski on as little as 14 centimeters of snow. This gives us one month of additional good skiing a year!

John is a participant and a volunteer at most of our club events, competitions, and of course, potlucks!!

Here is what was written on Linda's nomination form:

"Linda has been a member of the CNSC since 1986, back when we were still the Hickory Wing Ski Club! During the first five years of her time on the executive, Linda was the Membership Coordinator. No easy task when all you had was a typerwriter(no computers then!). From there she took over the role of Treasurer, a position she has most diligently held since 1991. Linda keeps us in the black. Her careful financial planning has meant that we have been able to attain some very significant goals i.e. Piston Bulleys and an expanded lighting system. The job of treasurer is huge. Income tax, GST nightmares, insurance, payroll for our crew, CCBC, monthly statements, being audited. Linda has seen and done it all! Linda was the Chair for the Caledonia Marathon for three years. She attained her Level II Official's status to be Starter for the Junior National event held here in 1991 (Linda advanced to a Level III official in 1999), and since then has been the starter for almost every race held here(till 1997). Linda is a Jackrabbit leader, she helps with Biathlon events, is part of every committtee, and sometimes is the committee when no one else volunteers! Linda has organized the Ski Swap and has been on the Winter Action Trade Show Committee as a representative for the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club. She has also been a key organizer in the Mad Hatter's Fun Relay and Ski Fest."
Linda passed away on October 18,2007.

Jim has been actively involved with the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club for as long as the current members can remember, stretching back to the 1970's when the Tabor Ski Trails were the only Nordic facility in the Prince George area.
Jim has been the Trails Coordinator for approximately 20 years. Jim, along with Niilo Itkonen, was one of the spearheads in developing the Otway Trail System that opened in 1984-85. In fact it was Jim and Val who, while skiing from their home in Miworth to the week day skiing facility at Okanagan Helicopter, noticed the winter micro climate in the present location of the trails and set about obtaining tenure to develop a ski facility. With Jim's energy, drive, and coordination the Trail System at Otway has been cleared, surveyed and developed from 1.5 km in 1984-85 to the 30 km groomed today (1996).

Skiers at Otway know Jim as the fellow who can make a few inches of snow ski like a few feet of snow with his excellent grooming skills.

Jim's work at Otway has encompassed more than trails.Niilo and Jim built the first day lodge. The day lodge has now been expanded but the original lodge structure still forms an important part of the Ski Center. Jim represented the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club and Prince George as a race official at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary and has presented trail-grooming seminars to operators in Western Canada. He has been an active fundraiser by organizing garage sales, book exchanges, evening potluck dinners and concession sales.
Jim has also been active in a number of other club functions including organizing the Masters and the Ski Touring Groups. Along with his wife, Val, he has taken club Ski Tour members to explore the Northern outdoors on skis. Without Jim Weed the Otway Nordic Center would not be the facility it is today!