Jimmie Spencer, Legendary Head of CWSAA, Dies

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18 July 2018

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SAM Magazine—Kelowna, B.C., July 17, 2018—Jimmie Spencer, who led the Canada West Ski Areas Association for 32 years, died July 16 in Vernon, B.C., at age 92. HN spencerobit

He led CWSAA from 1979 through 2011.“Likely his greatest legacy … will be the generation of leadership and cooperative culture he expected and created between competitors to establish The Canada West Way,” said Andre Quenneville, chairman of the CWSAA board of directors. “Remarkable, storied, legendary, monumental, pillar, leadership, inspiration, epic, amazing mentor are all descriptors that have quickly circulated to articulate one of our great industry leaders.”

Spencer’s introduction to skiing came while he was stationed in Austria as part of the British Army following World War II, when he learned to ski as part of an alpine command unit. He eventually won the British national championships in winter pentathlon in 1952 and 1953 and captained the British Nordic Biathlon teams in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Winter Games.Spencer took the helm at CWSAA when the ski industry in western Canada was in its infancy. The then recently-retired British Army Colonel helped forge broadly accepted operational standards and best practices. He inspired and motivated a generation of leaders who are now themselves grooming, training, and mentoring the next generation.Spencer was a strong supporter of Selkirk College’s Ski Resort Operations and Management Programs, and was involved with the development of the HeliCat Canada group of heli-skiing and cat-skiing operators.His work in Western Canada and internationally has brought numerous accolades, not least of which was the Order of British Columbia in 2007 and an induction into Canada’s Ski Hall of Fame in 2011.