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2024-2025 officers
President
Ray Bollerud
Vice President/Secretary
Anne Halvorsen
Treasurer
Phil Waier
Social Committee
Dave Goldstein
Website
Tim Halvorsen
Past President
Dave Koepele
Sugarbush Racing Club History
December 14, 2025
This season, 2025/26, marks an anniversary for SRC — somewhere between 45 and 60 years depending on how one interprets the history and scattered memories of those few remaining participants from the early years. Here’s one of the many stories of how it all began:
Local ski bums started having informal races in the mid-60s, when Sugarbush Resort was known as Sugarbush Valley. One of the first was a downhill from the top of the Gondola, then located at the very top of Organgrinder, and continued down Jester to the finish line at the “Ball Park,” the flat area before what eventually became Allyns Lodge. The starter with a walkie-talkie would launch racers one at a time with a “3,2,1 GO!”, to the timers with stop watches down at the finish line. There were no gates and the trail was not closed to recreational skiers. It was interesting.
Next came slalom racing on Hot Shot and Tranquilizer (since renamed Racer’s Edge) led by Tony Hyde, and by the early 70s slalom races were being held on Lower Snowball. By the 1975/76 season, three person teams from local businesses were getting into some more serious competition, led by the likes of Steve Hewitt and the Gilbert brothers, and the racing club became a reality. The early après parties were held at a variety of places — the Golden Horse Lodge, (currently the site of the Sugarbush Administration Offices), the Common Man and the Blue Tooth to name a few. Around this time Stowes’ much larger and experienced club challenged us to a race that became a fixture for many years. Two races were held each season, one at Stowe and one at Sugarbush. Stowe generally came out on top. Having said that, Sugarbush always won the after party — and memorable parties they were! Après parties at Stowe were first at the Rusty Nail and later at the Matterhorn. Prizes were distributed along with various awards for the top skiers and teams including a large trophy that was recycled at the first race every year and given to the winning Sugarbush or Stowe race team.
For the purpose of an anniversary designation, the 1975/76 season has been decided upon as the official founding date of SRC — 50 years ago! No one in particular stood out as being in charge, but by 1980, Dave and Amy Deutl were more or less the driving forces. Thus, for our President’s plaque, we have labeled them as the first “Presidents” from 1980 – 1983.
Judi Gross (daughter of long-time members Larry and Barbara Bennett) got things more organized beginning in 1983 and served in that capacity until 1997. With the help of Rich Jones, Michael Pepper took over for one year, 1997/98, followed by Stan Needleman from 1998 – 2001. By that time, SRC had more organized weekly races and continued to compete with Stowe twice a year.
At that point, Doug Lewis, former US Olympian and World Cup Medalist and his wife, Kelley also a World Cup athlete, were very active with the mountain, the racing program, and the Club, and they convinced Kelley’s workmate, Peter Wicklund, to step in as President. Peter, Kelley (as Vice President), Rich (continuing as Treasurer) and Stan (as past President) served as the “executive committee” and invited members to an organizational meeting early in the 2001 season. That was the beginning of a more structured group, but still a loosely organized “Board of Directors” made up of whomever wanted to attend the board meetings. A SRC website and club logo were designed, and Howie Whittle, long time non-racing member, expressed an interest, made improvements, and became the Club Webmaster.
Tuesday races continued each week, usually on Spring Fling, and sometimes at Mt. Ellen on Inverness. Even though not as challenging, the Club races were eventually moved to Racer’s Edge which featured electronic timing and start and finish shacks.
The Stowe/Sugarbush annual challenge continued, two races each season, with Stowe generally coming out on top. Doug Lewis designed a special ski bum race competition that included specific age groups, gender, and equipment (skis, snowboard, telemark) and persuaded the State ski leadership to sponsor the events. The first “Vermont Ski Bum Championship” was held at Sugarbush in March, 2005, with Stratton taking 1st and Sugarbush 2nd. The event was held at Okemo in 2006, with Stowe taking 1st, Sugarbush 4th. A fun event, but as far as we know, the second year was the end of the Vermont Ski Bum Championships.
In the spring, after the end of the racing season each year, SRC held a fun race with silly costumes. There were obstacles set up throughout the race course where racers had to stop and sit down on a beach chair for a drink, play golf, twirl a hula hoop, etc. Food and drinks were served at the end of the race at the Valley House. Needless to say, another great series of parties were in the books.
As the racing membership grew, the Club started having an annual banquet with awards for the top racers and the best scoring team. Prizes were donated by various ski shops and Valley businesses with Mountainside Ski Service being noteworthy for very generous donations including a pair of skis each season.
Peter continued as President from 2001 – 2006. Dave Ellison was our next President and up to this point, there were no real elections; just whomever was willing to take the lead once the “President-for-Life” decided enough was enough. As with everything, membership fees increased over the years, but the Club continued to grow in numbers under Dave’s leadership, especially social membership.
The next season, 2012/13, was a challenging time for the Club with a poor weather year – very little snow and lots of rain. To complicate matters, our race day was changed from Tuesday to Thursday, which presented many issues for some members. As a result, SRC cancelled our official races that year, although a few club members raced on the public NASTAR course on Fridays. Unfortunately, this was the end of the Stowe/Sugarbush Challenge and, for the time being, there were no race awards at the annual banquet. Dave Ellison after 7 years as president, 2006 – 2013, suggested that he had served long enough and asked for someone else to step up to the plate.
Long time member and racer, John Wilson was determined to revive the Club and racing program and convinced Manny Apigian to serve as President in 2013. Under Manny’s (and John’s) leadership, a more formal board was established. The Club became an official 501c7 tax exempt organization, and two-year terms were set for the President to avoid the “President-for-Life” situation.
It was also around this time that the Club started hosting a 50-50 raffle at the weekly après parties, and funds were donated to Vermont Adaptive. Eventually, the donated prizes for the annual banquet were raffled rather than given away with the proceeds added to the 50-50 donation and passed along to Vermont Adaptive at the end of the season each year.
Following Manny, John Wilson was elected as President at the annual banquet in March 2015. Unfortunately, John passed away following a biking accident that summer. Wheaton Simis was nominated by the board to fill John’s term and he continued as President until 2017. Danielle Hampton served as President during the 2017- 2018 season followed by Dave Koepele, 2018 – 2020.
This brings us to our current president, Ray Bollerud, who was elected for the 2020/21 ski season (Covid) along with Jula Fender as VP. Treasurer, Chet Monroe continued until turning his duties over to Phil Waier a few years later. Dave Goldstein stepped in as Social Chair and has continued to organize weekly après parties, dinner dances and several summer and fall activities. A significant loss for the Club was the departure of our long-time webmaster, Howie Whittle. For 20 plus years, Howie served on the Board of Directors and spent many hours updating the website and posting photos, many of which were ones that he took, standing for hours in the cold and snow at the weekly races. Thankfully, Tim Halvorsen has been able to seamlessly take over the webmaster duties where Howie left off.
As most of us know, times have been difficult for the Club the past few years, starting with COVID, followed by weather challenges, mountain ownership changes, broken snow making pipes and our ability to organize weekly races and clinics. As we enter our 50th year, we need to recognize and thank Sugarbush, all of our past presidents and others who have spent many hours working on behalf of the Club, and challenge today’s membership to volunteer their services to help the Club continue to prosper.
Cheers to 50 Years!
Authors: Diana Edwards and Mike Ware
SRC Bylaws
Incorporation
Sugarbush Racing Club, Inc. (SRC) is a Not for Profit corporation incorporated in the State of Vermont.
Dissolution
In the event of dissolution of the SRC, all assets remaining after payment of creditors shall be transferred to its successor Not for Profit corporation or to a charity as determined by a vote of the Board of Directors.
Purpose
The SRC exists to serve the athletic and social interests of club members.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors (BOD) shall consist of no fewer than 5 and no more than 10 members. The SRC officers shall be BOD members and shall appoint additional BOD members as required.
The BOD shall include the President, Vice President/Secretary and Treasurer, plus additional appointed BOD members as may be necessary or appropriate.
A BOD member may be dismissed if the majority of the board considers their behavior or the conduct of their office to be detrimental to the SRC.
Officers, Elections and Terms
The officers of the SRC shall be President, Vice President/Secretary and Treasurer.
The officers shall be elected annually by a majority of the SRC membership present at the time and location announced by the BOD. If necessary, the BOD may conduct the annual election by mail or email.
Officers shall be elected to serve terms as follows:
- President – limited to two one year terms
- Vice President/Secretary – one year
- Treasurer – one year
If an elected officer is unable to complete his/her term, the board will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the elected officer’s term. If the appointed officer later decides to stand for election they will be subject to the terms defined above. In the case of the President, the appointed term does not limit the number of allowed elected terms.
Fiscal/Club Year
The SRC fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30.
Board of Directors Meetings
The BOD shall meet no fewer than two times per year.
Financial Reporting and Management
The Treasurer shall issue a report of financial position no fewer than two times per year. In addition, the Treasurer is responsible for managing the club’s bank accounts. The Treasurer, the President and one other member of the BOD shall be authorized to sign checks on behalf of the club. An expense budget and revenue projection will be developed for each fiscal year. Any expenditure of unbudgeted club funds in excess of $100 must have the approval of at least three BOD members.
Meeting Minutes and Biennial Reporting
The SRC Secretary shall maintain minutes of BOD meetings and file a required Biennial Report with the Corporation Division of the Vermont Secretary of State office.
Debt
The BOD shall incur no debts on behalf of the SRC which cannot reasonably be paid in full within the fiscal year. If an unforeseen debt is incurred or equipment is required which cannot be paid within the year, the BOD shall call a special membership meeting to vote on an assessment.
Agent
An Agent shall be appointed by the BOD and must be a resident of the State of Vermont.
Membership
Membership in the SRC is open to all persons 18 years of age or older regardless of race, gender, religion or national origin. The club will not tolerate discrimination in any form.
Termination of Membership
Membership in the SRC may be terminated by a member at any time or by the BOD for the following reasons
Member behavior is deemed detrimental to the reputation or good order of the SRC.
Dues and fees more than 30 days in arrears.
Special Membership
From time to time, the BOD may designate honorary members who will be exempt from dues and fees.
Operating Rules and Requirements
From time to time, the BOD may institute rules and requirements governing the day to day operation and management of the SRC.
Stay in the loop
Upon joining, members agree to have their email added to our private mailing list and for their email to be visible to other list subscribers.
If you’re not a member but simply want to keep with SRC activities, you can subscribe here.
Mailing list management and sending is limited to a few Board members. All subject lines are prefixed with SRC Announcement so you know their source.
If you reply to the message it will go to info@sugarbushracingclub.com.
From time to time we will post messages from our sponsors and members of the community that are of interest to members. If you have a desire to share information with the membership, please email info@sugarbushracingclub.com.
You may opt-out of receiving emails by sending an email to sugarbush-racing-club+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. This link also appears at the bottom of every message you receive.
If you experience difficulties receiving messages or know someone in the Club who thinks they are not getting our emails, please contact us at info@sugarbushracingclub.com.
How to reach us
The Sugarbush Racing Club is made up of adults who are living or reliving their ski bum and weekend-warrior days on the slopes of Sugarbush and in the Mad River Valley. The Club is all about fun racing, friendly rivalries, great après-ski parties and wonderful social events. Become a member now!
The Sugarbush Racing Club is an all-volunteer group. Many activities are required to make the club run. If you are a member and would like to support the club, please click here for the volunteer information form.
The Sugarbush Racing Club, Inc. is incorporated in the State of Vermont and has been granted 501c-7 non profit, tax exempt status.
Information
Mailing address
Sugarbush Racing Club, PO Box 1502, Waitsfield, VT 05673
Website
Webmaster
webmaster@sugarbushracingclub.com