Good Will: Santa of the Summit

Laura Nelson is haggling with a contractor over the phone. "I can see why your quote was so high," reasons the Fernie and District Historical Society president. "But it saves us a lot of money, $1300 versus $5000. I'll get my boys to come help me."

Nelson will have to crawl into the 60-centimetre-wide crawlspace of the society's newly leased, century-old building to spray cellulose insulation. It's a dirty, intensive job.

"It's gonna be ugly," she says, hanging up the phone, then glancing at me. "It's just one day in my life. I can handle it."

Nelson is passionate about Fernie's vibrant history. In addition to her position as FDHS president, Nelson is a fourth generation Fernieite and as evidenced by the plaster dust on her down jacket, the society's labourer. She's also the project manager and grant writer.

In an effort to literally and figuratively build the society, Nelson applied to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies' Summit Fund last year and was awarded $21 000 over the next three years. In 2007, both the Fernie Alpine Resort and Kimberley Alpine Resort (under parent company Resorts of the Canadian Rockies) announced each resort would donate a total of $150 000 over the following five years to local organizations and charities. The mandate of the fund is "to enhance the community by supporting sustainable local projects that create positive opportunities and outcomes for its citizens."

For the FDHS, the Summit Fund had perfect timing. When the BC government pulled the $160 000 funding plug Nelson was counting on for operations as well as renovations to their first reliable home, the FDHS was nearly crippled. The Fernie community, however, stepped in with in-kind labour donations, cash and volunteers. But one of the major supporters was, somewhat unexpectedly, RCR.

Typically, large corporations operating a town's beloved recreation area from distant city head offices don't have warm reputations in every local's heart. Tarsands corporate billionaire Murray Edwards saved RCR 10 years ago, taking the fledging Fernie resort from under bankrupt Calgary ski magnate Charlie Locke. The ensuing expansion, floods of people and rocketing property taxes begot a relationship with some Fernieites that was at best cautious and at worst bitter.

"The Fund has been well received by the community," says Nelson when I ask how the monetary gesture impacted Fernie's impression of RCR. "It's bettered our relationship. It's helped localize the resort, to bring it back from being up on the hill or being in another city and make it local." And Fernieites are serious about being local, as well as being more than a place for weekend recreation.

"Fernie has been here for generations. We built this town long before it became a ski hill," Nelson insists. "RCR choosing to support the FDHS shows respect for the community."

RCR Sales and Marketing Vice President Matt Mosteller wants the fund to focus on volunteer organizations that make the community work. He claims it's the best way to give back to the community. "Most of what we've supported in the past will have long-term benefits that are not immediately obvious," reasons Mosteller in general reference to previous RCR community support methods. "The Summit Fund is more obvious, cash-in-hand. It shows the communities we fully support them."

Also under RCR's umbrella, Kimberley Alpine Resort is working to embrace the town. Says Mosteller, "People often don't realize the good local heroes have done. The recipients of the Summit Fund are passionate, caring and committed to their communities, people like Brenda Birrell and her crew."

With her husband John and several others, Birrell organized Kimberley's inaugural Bootleg Sled Dog Race in February 2009. "I read Winterdance by Gary Paulsen and knew sled-dog racing was what I wanted to do," she recalls, explaining her inspiration for dog racing.

Having sprint-raced her dogs all over the continent since retiring from a fruitful history with the ski industry, the Birrells executed an impressively successful race in Western Canada Typical races draw 500 spectators. The 2009 Bootleg Sled Dog Races—purely a race for charity—drew 3600 and raised over $18 000 for the East Kootenay Friends of Children Fund.

With Summit Fund recipients donating to charities like EKFC, a kind of pay-it-forward momentum starts to build. Currently, there is no financial or logistical support for families of sick children in BC who have to travel to be with their kids during medical treatment. The EKFC lessens the family's financial burden for travel.

Birrell strongly feels the Summit Fund's $4000 donation gave the race legitimacy for other sponsors to get on board. "RCR made a huge difference as our single biggest supporter. It left a big impression on Kimberley."

The Birrells are familiar with tenuous relationships between resorts and nearby towns. They moved west from Ontario in the late '70s, initially working as ski instructors. Brenda managed retail endeavors both on and off the hill, and John has been the general manager of Blackcomb, Red Mountain Resort and Island Lake Cat Skiing. What drew the Birrells to Kimberley was its strong community of compassionate people.
I questioned whether the Birrell's ties to the resort and the industry gave them an advantage over other applicants for the Summit Fund. "We've known Matt via ski coaching for a long time," replies John. "There's certainly a level of trust between us. Perhaps that's why, as first timers, we were able to get impressive funding."

It would be easy to object to RCR's intentions and say the Bootleg Sled Races got their funding because the organizers know RCR representatives. However, in a small, tightly woven community like Fernie or Kimberley it's hard to pretend you don't know someone. Knowing people makes it easier to renovate your home or rebuild a historical building. In Fernie, Nelson draws from local contractors, her family and tradesmen who volunteer to help renovate.

The success of the Bootleg Dog Sled Race was due in large part to how the community came together—volunteers were exceptional, resources like space on the golf course were free, spectators donated despite free admission and the local radio and newspapers promoted the races without being asked.

A corporation doesn't have a face until it meets with community leaders. The Summit Fund covers a wide variety of recipients, from theatre programs and writers' conferences to food banks and nature societies. The common thread is not that the grant writer might know someone in head office—which is indeed plausible—but that the individual, group or club needs a hand to continue making the community a rich place to live. That the hand is coming from a corporation is perhaps an example of the big wigs helping out the little guy. But maybe it's a better example of the big guy learning from its community. V

Show me the money

Ever wonder where your lift ticket fee goes? In Fernie and Kimberley, a portion of resort profits go back to local organizations. Here's a list of major donations from this year's Summit Fund:

Fernie
Isabella Dicken Elementary School Playground
Fernie Historical Society
Fernie Search and Rescue
Taste of Fernie
Emily Brydon Youth Foundation
Fernie Interpretive Centre College of the Rockies

Origninally printed in Edmonton VUE Weekly here - http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=13889