Killington
posted
Dec 13, 2012
U.S. Paralympian Champion Sarah Will joins
efforts
Erin Fernandez, executive director of Vermont Adaptive Ski and
Sports, announced Dec. 5 that their new headquarters will be named
the Andrea Mead Lawrence Lodge at Pico Mountain. The Lawrence
family has committed to help raise $250,000 necessary to complete
the $1.3 million facility.
In addition, U.S. Paralympian Champion Sarah Will, who also
hails from Pico and is a Pico Ski Club alumni, has partnered with
the two organizations to raise more than $60,000 as well. The
"Access for All" Elevator and Foyer will be named in her honor.
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, the largest year-round
organization in the state to offer daily adaptive sports programs
to people with disabilities, will share this facility with
Pico Ski Education Foundation.
A special ceremony and official announcement will be held at the
project site at Pico Mountain on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 12-noon. This
is also the first day of the season for skiing and riding at Pico
(weather permitting) and the beginning of a season-long 75th
anniversary celebration of Pico Mountain. All are invited to attend
the ceremony.
"Andrea Mead Lawrence continues to provide inspiration to Pico
Ski Club kids and their families as well as to skiers of all (dis)
abilities in the region and throughout the country," said Tom
Aicher, secretary of the Pico Ski Education Foundation, which has
partnered with Vermont Adaptive to build this new facility. "As
Pico Mountain begins to celebrate its 75th anniversary, it makes
perfect sense to keep her legacy at the forefront of skiing in this
community. Naming this building in her honor will do just
that."
In partnership with the Lawrence family, the two non-profits will
raise $250,000 in honor of Mead Lawrence.
"This is the right place to commemorate our mother's place in
the skiing history at Pico," said Quentin Andrea Lawrence, Mead
Lawrence's daughter. "This is where my mother's roots began in her
skiing career and her love of mountains, and if she can inspire
families of up and coming skiers as well as those with disabilities
who are drawn to the mountains, then this is where we believe that
she should be immortalized. On behalf of the family, we are honored
to name the new state-of-the-art facility after our mother."
Construction began on the Andrea Mead Lawrence Lodge at Pico
Mountain in October. In-kind donations have allowed construction to
begin early, so that framing work can begin ahead of schedule in
the spring. The campaign will continue to raise the final funds for
the project throughout the winter.
Andrea Mead Lawrence began skiing at her parents' ski mountain,
Pico Mountain, and at age 14 made the national team. At 15, she
competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics, taking eighth in slalom. At
the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway, at the age of 19, she won gold
in the slalom and giant slalom - the first and only time an
American skier has won two gold medals in an Olympics.
Sarah Will began skiing at age 4 at Pico Mountain and hasn't
missed a ski season since, even following her accident which broke
her back and paralyzed her from the waist down. She went on to win
a record 12 gold medals and one silver in four Winter Paralympic
Games, and her passion for skiing and for life continues today in
her work. She is presently an advocate and consultant for
accessibility for persons with all types of disabilities.
To donate toward these campaigns or to inquire on other naming
opportunities, contact Fernandez at 802-353-8129 or
director@vermontadaptive.org or visit www.vermontadaptive.org.
