At the end of each season, Ford Sayre traditionally has a thank you gathering to celebrate the contributions of our Program Directors, Head Coaches and Council Members. It is typically held at Pierce’s Inn in Etna, NH, the proprietors of the Inn and the Inn itself have a long history with Ford Sayre. It always feels like home! One of the most important parts of the evening is presenting our Volunteer Award.
Over the years, we have been able to recognize some wonderful people who have worked hard to keep our traditions strong, assisting out on the snow or behind the scenes to help our participants hone their skills, develop a lifelong love for snow sports and develop as young people. We have so many committed volunteers spread among our various programs that it is always difficult to make a final selection. If you have been away from Ford Sayre for any length of time, our current programs include Nordic, Ski Jumping, Alpine, and our newest offering, Skimo, skinning up the mountain and then racing down. In recent years, we have had five hundred plus athletes in our programs. It takes a lot of volunteer energy to keep Ford Sayre moving forward, adapting to change, and at the same time working hard to honor the roots of our Club.
During the early summer of 2024, we recognized Liz Hackett with this year’s Volunteer Award, honoring her long commitment of service to the Club. Liz did not grow up skiing. She started skiing as an adult. Liz and her husband Charlie moved to the Upper Valley in 1996. When their youngest child was in Kindergarten, he began alpine skiing in Ford Sayre’s entry level program at the Dartmouth Skiway. Both of Liz’s children spent their time growing up in the Upper Valley in Ford Sayre Programs all the way through high school graduation. They participated in entry-level alpine programs, our development program, DEVO, Jr. Racing and then Ford Sayre Academy. Liz’s story is like a lot of Ford Sayre families. They were all in. Liz spent time helping to coordinate alpine ski races at the Skiway, helping to bring on our first on-line registration system, serving as the Alpine Jr. Racing Program Director, the Ford Sayre Academy Program Director, a non-voting member of the Ford Sayre Council, on the Alpine Committee and then serving six years as a full Council Member. All the while, Liz and her husband Charlie volunteered at countless races, banquets and ski sales. Charlie became a carded race official, a role that is critical to Ford Sayre’s ability to host sanctioned alpine races on our home hill.
While Liz’s countless hours of volunteer service were invaluable to the Club, the other members of the Council that Liz has served with remember her most for her calm rational approach to things and her strong critical thinking skills. She is Ford Sayre through and through. We celebrate Liz for her incredible contribution to Ford Sayre and honor her, along with all the other volunteers that have contributed at any level to Ford Sayre during our nearly 88 year history. Thank you for reading this and thank you for your support and interest in Ford Sayre. We believe it is one of those organizations that makes the Upper Valley special.