April 19th, 2018 — Submitted by Scott Barrett, AOA Executive Director
Thank you to everyone who attended last night’s 2018 Ontario Ski Racing Awards (OSRA) presented by Mackenzie Investments. The event took place at the Steam Whistle Brewery in downtown Toronto. Despite several challenges, including ice falling off the CN Tower, road closures and a front door barricade, we are thrilled to announce that the event was a success, having close to 200 ski racing fans in attendance!
The focus of the evening was celebrating another incredible ski season and this year’s 12 OSRA recipients. The evening kicked off with our great friends at Mackenzie Investments presenting a cheque to AOA for $25, 000!! Following this, I was joined by CAST skiers Phil Brown, Ali Nullmeyer and Roni Remme to hand out the awards. Thanks to the trio for your help, to Roni for her moving speech, and for donating a World Cup Bib!
The Awards campaign was a big success with over 4,600 votes cast. Specifically the categories of Club of the Year and Jr. Coach of the Year got some amazing uptake and it was exciting to announce both category winners last night. The entire process was managed by our Awards Committee Chair and AOA Director, Allan Mihalcin. Allan traveled down from Thunder Bay to attend the event and we greatly appreciate his time and contributions this season.
2018 AWARD WINNERS:
Chairpersons Award , Bill Reeves, U16 Nationals Chair
Robert Shore Officials, Bruce Twible, National TD
Community Volunteer, Eugene Trusler, Osler
Parent Volunteer, Brian Silveria, Camp Fortune
Leadership & Excellence, “Shicker” , Searchmont
Sr. Athlete of the Year, Roni Remme, CAST
Jr. Athlete, Kyle Blandford, Toronto ski Club
Jr. Coach of the Year, Heather Metzger, Georgian Peaks
Sr. Coach of the Year, Katie Twible, Ontario Ski Team
Most Improved Athlete, Reece Ralph, Fenninger Racing
Fair Play Award, Rachel Soleto, Jozo Weider
Club of the Year, Alpine Ski Club
We also want to thank Air Canada Vacations for their Mexico trip donation which raised $5,000! Other attending AOA partners at the event included Rossiter Boats President, Scott Hanson; NZ Foundation’s Bebe Zoricic and Aaron Schrama; Project X President, Stephen Hayward; Scalar’s Director of Sales, David Blanford, Stratum Advisory Group’s Steve Albiani; Oxford Properties CEO, Blake Hutchison, Alpine Canada VP, Linsey Ferguson and Cory Thistlethwaite.
It’s always great to look out in the crowd and see some CAST Alumni including Robyn Mcleese and Rob Crosson, and several Ontario Ski Team racers including Brianna Mcdonald, Gwen Dymond, Emily Field, Camile Vibert, Nicole Clark and Ben Hanson.
Lastly, I thank my awesome staff – Laura, Kristin, Robyn, Duncan, Alex, Suki and TES. Thanks for keeping it real, having some fun and raising money for the kids!