Today marks the one year anniversary of the the day Monika died. I know I'm not alone in remembering this. If I could hug this whole community, I would.
Seems like an appropriate day to update everyone on the status of the Yuki awards
turns-all-year.com/yukiaward.html
. So far, we've given out 7 Scholarships.
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Mark Prudhon lives in Snohomish County and has used the scholarship to educate a group of boy scouts. He has several more awareness programs scheduled.
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Kari Kirkpatrick will be graduating from the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University next year to begin a career in the heli-ski industry. Kari plans to use the scholarship in the next few months to present avi awareness programs to girl scout troops in Oregon and SW Washington.
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Andrea Towlerton, a mid west transplant who has fallen in love with the mountains out here, has taken her Avi 1 course though Mountain Madness. She has been working with
Scott Schell and the
Friends of the Northwest Avalanche Center to hone her presentation skills. Scott has been invaluable in helping a relatively inexperienced back country enthusiast acquire the knowledge necessary for presenting avi awareness to others. Andrea, in turn, has matched Scott's willingness with boundless enthusiasm and good spirit.
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Grant Bennett, a high school senior in Bellingham, is using the scholarship to create a multimedia presentation on basic avalanche safety and its importance in the local community. He will be offering the presentation as a supplement for school supported ski programs in Bellingham.
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Tharin Huisman grew up in Washington and lives on the Olympic Peninsula. He is a volunteer firefighter currently serving as Lieutenant in his station. He has already used the scholarship to present an awareness program to a boy scout troop, and is currently working on a presentation aimed at the snowmobile community out there.
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Andrew Doedens is an eagle scout who taught music for several years before deciding to pursue his B.A at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. He hopes to one day become a commercial pilot. He plans to use the scholarship to present avi awareness programs to the ski and snowboard club at CWU.
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Kimberly Kerschke heard about the Yuki Awards through Off Piste magazine. Kimberly works at ski shop in Colorado. Last weekend she used scholarship money to hire a Crested Butte Mountain Guide to accompany her on a hut trip she had planned for a group of girls new to back country skiing. Here's how Kimberly described it:
"Our trip was an absolute success and the girls loved it. They challenged themselves with the ski in and out, had quality time with their friends and the other women that were there, and got exposed to a solid avi presentation that included advanced awareness topics, digging in the snow, and watching a mock rescue scenario. Several of the girls expressed interest in going out to our little sidecountry area and practicing what they learned. It was exactly what I hoped for!"
I think I can speak for everybody who has been involved with this when I say that it's been a real treat to see people take an idea and turn it into action. Thank you to everybody who has made a contribution. Thanks to the award recipients and to all who have applied. Thanks to the avi course providers and to Ortovox for supplying transceivers at cost to award winners. And thanks to the other committee members -- MJ, Oyvind, Gregg, Marcus, Stephanie, and Khan--for the seemingly endless emails and correspondence. On a day with so many reasons to be sad, it's nice to have something like this to feel good about.
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