FLORIDA SKI COUNCIL, INC.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

The Florida Ski Council is made up of 15 ski clubs located throughout the state. The clubs vary in size from a few hundred to well over a thousand members. The Florida Ski Council promotes the sport of snow skiing and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the skiing industry worldwide. The council plans and runs two domestic and one international trip each ski season, with occasional summer ski trips to Australia or South America. Welcome to the Florida Ski Council, providing quality ski trips for 30 years. I am honored to serve as your Council President for the upcoming year and with the assistance of our fabulous Board. The Florida Ski Council offers intra-club activities, parties, camraderies, and of course, competitions. I am looking forward to a very exciting and productive season. The Florida Ski Council promotes and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the resorts each year, am a Florida native and who saw snow for the first time at age 21 while in St. Moritz, Switzerland. I skied several times while working in Germany but didn’t really like it very much. It was cold and I wasn’t used to all that equipment. I was used to water skiing. Later in life I skied with my girls in North Carolina, and in my 40s started skiing in the West. It still wasn’t an instant love of the sport — I spent many a day with tears in my eyes — but eventually I grew to love the sport. I got involved with my local ski club, Space Coast Ski & Travel Club. I led trips, was on the club’s board, and eventually became president. With that experience, I went on to become involved with the Florida Ski Council and eventually became president. I can’t imagine my life without skiing and my ski friends. I have made so many friends in Florida and throughout the United States. These people are fun, adventurous, bright, and always ready to travel somewhere or anywhere. I have traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra, and Germany to ski. All of these trips have been with the Florida Ski Council. In addition to these, a friend (who I met in the ski club), and I have run trips that include Africa, Mediterranean cruise, Greek Isles cruise, Alaska, Thailand, Ireland and Iceland, and soon to be South America. What a fun ride! As past president of the Florida Ski Council, I am proud to have had the opportunity to help lead this organization. Being an officer was a lot of work at times, but so rewarding to work with people and put together wonderful trips for the members. The Florida Ski Council promotes and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the resorts each year, The Florida Ski Council promotes and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the resorts each year, f it is a NASTAR-sanctioned race course, the resort race director will determine medal results and provide the FSC vice president, On-Mountain Activities with a list and the NASTAR medals for each racer. These will be provided to each club’s race captain for distribution to the club members. The Florida Ski Council promotes and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the resorts each year, auline didn’t start skiing until she was in her 40s, following her treatment for colon cancer. Skiing became her love. She was the first woman to be president of the Miami Ski Club and then together with another past president, she founded the Florida Ski Council. Pauline finally succumbed to her health battles in 2009 shortly before NASTAR Nationals. NASTAR Officials sent her family a 2009 bib and a last gold medal for Pauline. In addition, they agreed to an FSC request to create a permanent award in her memory. Each year, the FSC provides a replica trophy of our Pauline’s Cup to be awarded to the Platinum winner in the Female 80+ category. The Florida Ski Council promotes and represents the ski clubs of Florida to the resorts each year, ince 1984, The Florida Ski Council has supported charities at the resorts we visit as well as here at home in Florida. While our main purpose is to assure that our members enjoy themselves on their ski trip, we also want to leave behind a positive reminder of our group in the communities we visit. Each year, the Florida Ski Council supports the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, and the Disabled Veteran’s Winter Sports Program, as well as a charity selected by the resort we visit. To date, we have supported various programs for blind skiers, physically challenged skiers, youth ski programs, charitable groups, and hospitals in the resorts we have visited. The Florida Ski Council was the first council in the country to adopt a charitable program such as this. he Ski Club from FSDB’s Blind Department has been making its annual trip to Colorado for almost 30 years. “When we started the club back in the early ’80s we never thought we would still be going today!” laughed Linda Meehan, the only remaining original FSDB staff member sponsoring the trip. “Originally, the trip was planned as a one-time senior class trip, and that initial trip was such a successful experience for our students, that we quickly realized it was something we wanted to provide for our students annually. Blind Department high school students must earn the trip each year through a competitive system where they are awarded points for their GPA, their behavior and school conduct, physical workouts, and participation in extra-curricular activities on campus. The FSDB students and accompanying sponsors join other visually impaired students from all over the United States at the Extreme Mobility Camp, a 501c3 organization. There, the group participate together in cross country and downhill skiing, snow tubing, snowmobiling, indoor water park fun, and rock wall climbing. Funding for the club and its annual trip is provided solely by donations from various ski clubs in Florida and from the Florida Ski Council, which solicits donations of money and clothing each year so FSDB students can have this wonderful opportunity. Without the support of the Florida Ski Council’s 15 member ski clubs from around the state, the trip would be too costly for the student group, and a fabulous, confidence-building experience would be lost.