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Jans Winter Welcome
Park City has its share of red carpet events. At least, during The Sundance Film Festival. But we roll out our very own red carpet for the Jans Winter Welcome every October. No, ours isn’t full of Hollywood starlets, but celebrities of a different sort. Olympic athletes, past, present, and future, grace our red carpet right alongside the community that gave them their start.
Thanks to our visionary founder, Jan Peterson, the Jans Winter Welcome, has become one of the longest-running fundraisers in Park City. For 31 years, this annual event has brought the community and the snow sports industries together for an evening of champagne toasts, mingling with Olympic medalists, and a rousing live auction. Last year, we raised over $400,000 to support the Youth Winter Sports Alliance (YWSA), a local non-profit created by Russ Coburn, Jans President and CEO, to help Park City kids participate in 13 different winter sports clubs.
Making Skiing and Snowboarding Accessible
The YWSA (www.ywsa.org) was formed in 2002 as an outgrowth of the Salt Lake City Olympics. The construction of numerous Olympic venues in Park City, including the Utah Olympic Park, gave local kids a chance to try not just alpine skiing, but also less mainstream sports. According to Russ Coburn, “Programs blossomed at each venue. Everything kept exploding and the community really embraced it.” As a result, Russ and a number of other visionaries formed the Youth Winter Sports Alliance with the intent that each child in this community would have the chance to experience the winter sport of their dreams.
Now in its 10th year, the YWSA boasts a number of local Olympians who have “grown up” in this organization and directly benefited from the Jans Winter Welcome. Examples include Ted Ligety, the youngest male skier to win an Olympic gold medal, Brett Camerota, 2-time Olympian in Nordic Combined and Bryon Wilson, Bronze Medalist in moguls in Vancouver. The Winter Welcome also supports the next generation of athletes such as 2011 Winter X Games gold medalist and first-ever slopestyle World Champion, Alex Schlopy, and Sarah Hendrikson who won the first women's World Cup ski jump event this year.
The Future of Ski Racing
By supporting winter training programs for youth, ages eight to eighteen, the YWSA develops junior athletes in the Park City area. Annual donations from the Jans Winter Welcome help fund clubs for alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, freestyle and freeride events, ski jumping, luge, skeleton and bobsled, figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey. If Park City kids want to jump, skate, slide or glide, YWSA and Jans make it possible.
Our donations keep coaching fees reasonable and help athletes fund travel costs. As any parent of a winter athlete will attest, the cost of airline travel can determine whether or not their child will be able to attend end of the season championships. Oftentimes an athlete won’t find out until a week in advance that he or she has qualified for such events, many of which occur in Europe. And that’s just one of the places where the YWSA steps in. With funding from the Jans Winter Welcome, a scholarship fund sets money aside for travel to end of season qualifications. So that every kid can compete at his or her highest level.
Alpine to Nordic & Everything In Between
Since the kids are what it’s really all about, every year we ask the Junior Athletes to get involved in the Jans Winter Welcome by escorting guests down the red carpet. It’s hard to tell who is more jazzed by the idea – the guests or the athletes themselves. “Seeing the next generation of athletes with the same passion and excitement for the sport that we have as they walk in is awesome,” says Russ Coburn. And the kids themselves get to personally meet some of their sports heroes who attend the event. Last year’s sports celebrities included Billy Demong, Ted Ligety, Brett Camerota, Alex Schlopy and Derek Parra in addition to 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Eric Heiden.
The Jans Winter Welcome started as a small party at a local restaurant on Main Street, but a few years ago, through the generous support of Deer Valley Resort, the Winter Welcome found its home at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley with 350 attendees annually. And, while the event is now “black tie suggested,” rest assured that nothing we do at Jans is stuffy.
Case in point, last year’s MC’s: two-time Olympic Medalist Shannon Bahrke and Paul Hochman, the Gear and Technology Editor for NBC’s Today Show. Both brought a level of exuberance to the event that was reflected in Paul’s sequined red tennis shoes that perfectly complimented Shannon’s shimmery red “prom dress” and her trademark pink hair. We even commissioned a signature drink by Bonnie Ulmer, winner of the Park City Cocktail contest. Her yummy pomegranate martini proved, once again, that you can get a “real drink” in Utah.
With over 250 contributing local businesses and the generosity of Jans’ vendors, our silent and live auction items are not to be missed. Those who can’t attend the event can still contribute to this worthy cause by participating in an opportunity drawing online. Last year’s prize was a trip for two to the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
Skiing Keeps Us Young
As we enter our 32nd year of the Jans Winter Welcome, we are proud that Jan Peterson had the vision to share his passion with the youth of the Park City community. And despite the amount of effort required to pull off an event of this scale, we still get teary-eyed during the video presentation every year.
“We want kids to enjoy the outdoors just as we did,” says Russ. “With the changing world around us, you can still go out and lose yourself with a pair of skis. You never grow old.”
It’s About Giving Back
We don’t toot our own horns. Seriously. Nothing we sell is of the motorized variety. We prefer self-propelled means of recreation, so we do occasionally ring the bells on our mountain bikes. And that’s why Jans gives back to this community that we call home.
Our efforts aren’t for bragging rights. We do this stuff because we love these mountains and our sports as much as you do, and we want to protect them for future generations. We also want the athletes (including you) that trust us with their equipment to be the very best they can be and to have as much fun as possible. Read through this section to find out about Jan’s community involvement. You just might be inspired to join us for the ride.
If you’d like to be involved in the Jans Winter Welcome please contact:
Aimee Preston
Executive Director
Youth Winter Sports Alliance
apreston@ywsa.org
Caron L. Keim
CFO
Jans Ltd.
caron@jans.com
