Nominated by Sandi Shaub & Jeannie Hummel
On March 12, 2022, Skiyente crowned Linda McGavin as King Winter for her many years of support to snowsports and to the Mount Hood community.
Linda McGavin was one of the two founding members of Plaza Ski Club, of Northwest Ski Club Council (NWSCC) in 1975. She worked at a law firm in downtown Portland, in the Standard Insurance Plaza Building. She, along with another co-worker, decided to form a ski club and name it after the building in which they worked. She no longer works wt the law firm, having retired several years ago, but is still a valuable member of this same ski club, which underwent a name change and is now Mountain High Snowsport Club in Portland, Oregon.
In 1979, Linda was one of the founding members of NWSCC, which now represents about 25 ski and snowboard clubs and 12 charitable associate member organizations serving Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.
Linda has always been a very active member of Mountain High Snowsport Club, holding officer roles of president, secretary, an
d council representative, and she continues as a trip leader to this day, running numerous successful trips. Besides ski trips for the club, she has run bicycle trips, hiking trips, and has planned many picnics, chocolate parties, and seafood parties.
From 2007 through 2014, Linda worked hand-in-hand with Mary Olhausen, managing the Far West Silent Auction. Linda's expertise in managing a silent auction is priceless. She helped garner donation packages from our many industry partners, reviewed every donation, worked directly with industry on package values, managed the bid pulls, and created the bid program. Linda was instrumental in moving from accepting single package donations to that of up to three packages per donation. Linda's integrity and work ethic are to be applauded! And later in the evening at the silent auction, you could always find Linda at the very end of the accounting tables, distributing the final bid packages to the winners -- she so enjoyed speaking with the winners and giving them tidbits of information about various destinations of the ski packages. She continues to work on the silent auction each year, helping out at the accounting tables, where her experience is greatly appreciated!
Linda's work in NWSCC has continued since its founding. In 1998, Linda received the Far West Jordan-Reily Award for her work in public affairs on behalf of NWSCC. Linda worked tirelessly crafting letters and advocating for development of local ski areas. She was the long-time newsletter editor for NWSCC, and in 2010 received the Far West Wentworth Outstanding Publication Award for Councils. Linda served as editor and production manager of the NWSCC's annual publication, Northwest Snowsports Guide, from 1984 to 2017. She wrote numerous articles for the publication and its annual distribution was near 10,000 copies. In 2016, for her work with the Guide, Linda received the Far West Bill Berry Hard News Award.
Linda currently serves on the NWSCC Board as director of communications. In that role, the newsletter has come to an end and she manages Council communications via their new website. In the early days of NWSCC, Linda ran the infamous Bachelor Blitz trips -- managing upwards of 35 buses and 1,500 skiers traveling to Bend, Oregon. For numerous years, Linda helped with the NWSCC Annual Ski Fair event, managing the silent auction -- working closely with industry partners and clubs for a very successful fundraiser for the Council.
During the summer, Linda and her husband, Bruce, can be found in the Columbia Gorge, Hood River area, happily skimming across the Columbia River on their windsurfing boards. During the winter, when busy with Council activities and club trips, Linda finds time to help our ski-related charity associations, assisting with fundraising events for the likes of Oregon Cancer Ski Out and Ski to Defeat ALS.
It is an honor to nominate our friend, Linda McGavin, in recognition for her long-term contribution to skiing.
