Joan Jeffery accepting 2025 Volunteer of the Year award for Bill Jeffery
2025 Volunteer of the Year
Bill Jeffery
The recipient of this prestigious Christina Woodrow “Volunteer Award” is well known to all of us. A mentor, a friend, a coach, a role model, a teacher, & a great ambassador for the club, this person is kind, giving, patient, driven, selfless & a true inspiration to all of us, with an energy that just keeps on giving. To top it off this person’s ability to ski is pretty good as well, some might say it’s exceptional in both classic and skate. Arguably, without this individual in the Club, it would be left wanting in many key areas.
The impact this person has had on the greater ski community has extended well beyond Prince Albert. The work done with “Ski Fit North” in shaping young champions within northern indigenous communities, to laying down kilometers of ski trails on his property & opening it up to anyone that wanted to use them, free of charge in the Sturgeon Lake area speaks volumes of his big generous heart & warm spirit.
Bill Jeffery has been a key & stellar member of this club - a leader in many facets, be it the many Loppets he’s organized, the coaching he’s provided, a valued long serving Board member, the indigenous education & the respect & reverence he’s been able to bring to the Little Red area underpin some of his noteworthy achievements. Most impressive has been his unwavering dedication. His effort is constant for 12-months of the year. As head of the grooming team & when there’s snow on the ground he’s out leading the tracking of trails achieving impeccable quality. When there’s no snow, he’s spending as much, if not more time - thinking, cleaning, designing & then carving new trails for the benefit of us all. He ensures personnel are trained, equipment updated, well maintained & always ready to go.
Despite the unfortunate & current set-backs with his health, he still pushed forward hard, much to the chagrin of Joan who tried to get him to slow down with little success. Hospital stays would achieve what Joan couldn’t in keeping him from Little Red. While recovering, he’d be most restless, just itching to get back out there. This pattern being a revolving door over the summer.
As a relative newcomer to the club & only having been on the Board for a year, I met Bill & Joan when arriving back in PA a couple years ago. Ever since we’ve become great friends & close neighbours - for he has taught me so much that goes well beyond the ski trails. I think I’m in good company with many of you here in having been similarly touched by Bill.
When the Board was deliberating as to who merited this year’s volunteer award, many impressive names were throw out - as one would expect. Then we heard a soft voice say, “what about Bill?”, with most dismissing it, thinking that he’d already been a recipient. To the surprise of many when it was determined he hadn’t, the decision was quick & unanimous. Most deserving Bill, congratulations. Joan if you would be so gracious as to accept this award as a small token of our tremendous appreciation & gratitude for everything that Bill has done for this club & the greater community. We wish Bill & you the very best on his road to recovery & we all look forward to when we can see his friendly smiling face out on the trails again
Bill Jeffery
The recipient of this prestigious Christina Woodrow “Volunteer Award” is well known to all of us. A mentor, a friend, a coach, a role model, a teacher, & a great ambassador for the club, this person is kind, giving, patient, driven, selfless & a true inspiration to all of us, with an energy that just keeps on giving. To top it off this person’s ability to ski is pretty good as well, some might say it’s exceptional in both classic and skate. Arguably, without this individual in the Club, it would be left wanting in many key areas.
The impact this person has had on the greater ski community has extended well beyond Prince Albert. The work done with “Ski Fit North” in shaping young champions within northern indigenous communities, to laying down kilometers of ski trails on his property & opening it up to anyone that wanted to use them, free of charge in the Sturgeon Lake area speaks volumes of his big generous heart & warm spirit.
Bill Jeffery has been a key & stellar member of this club - a leader in many facets, be it the many Loppets he’s organized, the coaching he’s provided, a valued long serving Board member, the indigenous education & the respect & reverence he’s been able to bring to the Little Red area underpin some of his noteworthy achievements. Most impressive has been his unwavering dedication. His effort is constant for 12-months of the year. As head of the grooming team & when there’s snow on the ground he’s out leading the tracking of trails achieving impeccable quality. When there’s no snow, he’s spending as much, if not more time - thinking, cleaning, designing & then carving new trails for the benefit of us all. He ensures personnel are trained, equipment updated, well maintained & always ready to go.
Despite the unfortunate & current set-backs with his health, he still pushed forward hard, much to the chagrin of Joan who tried to get him to slow down with little success. Hospital stays would achieve what Joan couldn’t in keeping him from Little Red. While recovering, he’d be most restless, just itching to get back out there. This pattern being a revolving door over the summer.
As a relative newcomer to the club & only having been on the Board for a year, I met Bill & Joan when arriving back in PA a couple years ago. Ever since we’ve become great friends & close neighbours - for he has taught me so much that goes well beyond the ski trails. I think I’m in good company with many of you here in having been similarly touched by Bill.
When the Board was deliberating as to who merited this year’s volunteer award, many impressive names were throw out - as one would expect. Then we heard a soft voice say, “what about Bill?”, with most dismissing it, thinking that he’d already been a recipient. To the surprise of many when it was determined he hadn’t, the decision was quick & unanimous. Most deserving Bill, congratulations. Joan if you would be so gracious as to accept this award as a small token of our tremendous appreciation & gratitude for everything that Bill has done for this club & the greater community. We wish Bill & you the very best on his road to recovery & we all look forward to when we can see his friendly smiling face out on the trails again
2024 Volunteer of the Year
Alex Crawley
Alex grew up in Medstead, Sk. where his dad introduced him to xc skiing on trails in his backyard at the early age of 5. As a teenager he joined the biathlon club at Blue Mtn., North Battleford and quickly qualified to join Team Sask. In doing so, Alex represented Saskatchewan at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Years later Alex brought his love of skiing with him to Prince Albert where he is involved in the pharmaceutical profession.
In 2019, Alex began assisting with our Jackrabbit Program. He took over the coordinator's responsibilities along with instruction in 2022. At present he is still active in this role.
Alex has a history of volunteering in many leadership capacities for several professional committees and boards. Of note, he was involved with the P.A. Music Festival and is currently a Board Member of our cross country ski club, and for the past year, our Vice President.
Alex is a warm, outgoing person. His energy is infectious and with that he was quickly able to grow the confidence of the jackrabbits and their parents. He brought in several new instructors and provided support in their leadership roles. Because of Alex's positive and dynamic leadership, the jackrabbit program continues to be a highlight of the PANSC programs.
Alex Crawley
Alex grew up in Medstead, Sk. where his dad introduced him to xc skiing on trails in his backyard at the early age of 5. As a teenager he joined the biathlon club at Blue Mtn., North Battleford and quickly qualified to join Team Sask. In doing so, Alex represented Saskatchewan at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Years later Alex brought his love of skiing with him to Prince Albert where he is involved in the pharmaceutical profession.
In 2019, Alex began assisting with our Jackrabbit Program. He took over the coordinator's responsibilities along with instruction in 2022. At present he is still active in this role.
Alex has a history of volunteering in many leadership capacities for several professional committees and boards. Of note, he was involved with the P.A. Music Festival and is currently a Board Member of our cross country ski club, and for the past year, our Vice President.
Alex is a warm, outgoing person. His energy is infectious and with that he was quickly able to grow the confidence of the jackrabbits and their parents. He brought in several new instructors and provided support in their leadership roles. Because of Alex's positive and dynamic leadership, the jackrabbit program continues to be a highlight of the PANSC programs.
2023 Volunteer of the year - kryztle shewchuk
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Kryztle Shewchuk’s dedication to the sport of cross country skiing and her commitment to our community and club is nothing short of spectacular. Her 2022-2023 season was successful and memorable in both her coaching and racing pursuits.
Kryztle’s background is in racing. She is a multi-sport athlete that has participated in national events for both sailing and skiing. She is a competitor at heart. She came into the sport through the help and coaching of Colette Bourgonje. Colette had previously found an elite athlete in Brittany Hudak and noticed the same capability in Krystle. They trained, travelled, and raced together for many years, and Krystle developed into an avid racer and lover of the sport. Para-nordic skiing is a defining aspect of our ski community. It is something that the Prince Albert area is consistently recognized for. When you look at the sport on a national level, Saskatchewan doesn’t seem to be a dominant figure. However, para-nordic athletes from this province, and more specifically this region, have always made up a large part of our national ski community. Colette is largely to credit for that. Over the course of the past few years, Colette has built up a strong team of youth para-nordic racers. Unfortunately, in early December of last year Colette went through a medical emergency that left her in the hospital for almost 2 months. There was a hole temporarily left in our community. In her absence, Krystle stepped up in a big way. She trained with the team multiple times a week for the entire season and coached them to great things. Krystle is a natural born coach. She is very knowledgeable about skiing and racing, but it doesn’t end there. Even early in the season when she was new to coaching the team, she picked up on the smallest details in regards to her athletes and was able to use this understanding to give them effective and precise feedback. Last winter, her athletes represented Team Lakeland at the Saskatchewan Winter Games in Regina. Each one of them brought home multiple gold medals. As much as she would have loved to be in Regina with her team Krystle wasn’t able to attend because she was representing Team Saskatchewan at the Canada Winter Games in P.E.I. during the same week. She battled tough competition and brought home a bronze medal which led to her being chosen to be Team Saskatchewan’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies. The athletes she coaches were undoubtedly inspired by seeing her perform and succeed at the highest level. The effects of her efforts will be seen within these kids for years to come. |