Behind every amazing moment at CADS, you’ll find our fantastic volunteers. Each year, we celebrate their hard work with special awards, and each recipient is nominated by our members.
As the 2022-2023 season came to a close, we received nominations for many truly outstanding volunteers and participants. While every CADS Calgary volunteer deserves a round of applause, the board selected one standout individual to receive each award. Please join us in congratulating the well-deserved winners of the 2022-2023 awards – and don’t forget to high-five them on the slopes this season!
Instructor of the Year
This award is presented to an instructor who has committed themselves to the CADS Calgary program and demonstrated the ability to help their student improve their skiing or snowboarding skills throughout the season. The instructor will have been committed to the program for three or more years and shown an abundance of dedication, creativity and passion for helping their student advance.
The recipient of this year’s Instructor of the Year award is: Will McNabb
New Instructor of the Year
This award is presented to a new instructor during their first year in the program. The instructor has shown commitment to learning how to improve their teaching skills, improve their own skiing or snowboarding technique and be focused on helping to support any student they are paired with. The instructor will have displayed a dedication to the program and sharing the love of skiing and snowboarding with all!
The recipient of this award is: Ben Sylvester
Grant Myren Memorial Award
This award is presented to a new instructor that has been with the program for less than 3 years and embodies Grant’s whole-hearted passion for CADS Calgary. Grant Myren was a competitive Bull Rider and a dedicated instructor in Calgary for many years. He showed CADS the same commitment he had every time he got on the back of a bull, giving 110% all the time without knowing what to expect. The recipient of this award will have jumped into instructing adaptive skiing or snowboarding without fully knowing what teaching and the CADS program was all about, but still giving their all and picking it up as they went!
The recipient of this award is: Tom Hufkens
Volunteer of the Year
This award is presented to a volunteer that has helped in ways other than instructing participants on snow! These individuals have gone above and beyond to contribute to the CADS Calgary family through their help in fundraising efforts, check-in for lesson nights, event planning and many other ways. Although not necessarily as readily identified as their instructor counterparts, they are crucial to every night we get to spend on snow!
The recipient of this award is: Janice Bushfield
Ted Rhodes Award
This award is presented in honour of Ted Rhodes to a participant of our ski and ride programs that have given their all over the course of the season. Ted Rhodes was the founder of CADS Calgary in 1972 and loved to see his students’ skills and confidence grow over the course of the season. In recognition of Ted, the individual receiving this award will have committed themselves to improve their skiing or snowboarding skills, and also will be actively promoting the CADS Calgary program. They will take great pride and joy from the opportunities to be on snow and are proud to be a part of our CADS family!
The recipient of this award is: Olivia Lettich
Student of the Year
The Student of the Year award honours an exceptional individual who has demonstrated remarkable dedication and accomplishments in adaptive snowsports. It is a challenging decision to pick just one student, as each one of our participants showcases an inspiring level of hard work and skill. This year, our recipient impressed us with their unwavering dedication to improving their skills, and giving their all each and every session!
The recipient of this award is: Adria Brochu
Doug Brack Memorial Award
This award is given to volunteers who have given their time to CADS Calgary for many years. The award is presented in memory of Doug Brack who was a long-time volunteer, starting in the winter of 1975. He was a certified CADS Instructor and spent many years building outriggers before he began driving snowmobiles for our CADS participants. Doug also participated in many CADS Festivals and was happy to pitch in whenever needed. In addition to his involvement with us, he gave back to the larger ski community by volunteering at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and was a fixture at every World Cup race at Lake Louise. Doug was tragically taken from us too soon in 2017 and leaves a large gap in the hearts of many members of the CADS family. This award is given out in his memory at the discretion of the Board of Directors to individuals that have been with CADS Calgary for 25 years minimum and have gone above and beyond in their contribution to CADS throughout that time.
The recipients of this award are: Don and Heather Yuen
Congratulations to all of our award recipients and thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers! We look forward to seeing you all on the snow this winter!