Black Bear Community Award- Holiday Edition!
Date: December 20th, 2023
Presenter: Courtney O’Keefe
Please join the KMS community in its recognition of several of our community members this week for our Black Bear Community Award! We continue to be incredibly grateful as well as humbled by the level of selfless commitment that many of our community members show on a daily basis. What is done for others is done not for recognition or reward. Rather, it is done with the sole purpose of fostering an environment where all may live up to their fullest potential, strive for excellence as well as personal and professional growth, and to provide for all the unique opportunities that differentiate KMS from other education and athletic institutions. Let’s give the following individuals a HUGE round of applause to show our continued appreciation for what they have done, and continue to do, for our community:
First, KMS would like to recognize KMS Venue Manager Tyler Smith, KMS Events Manager and KSC/KMS Competitions Program Director Chuck Hughes, KMS Development Program, Events & Summer Experience Coordinator Jeannine Bennett, as well as our Alpine Coaches for their amazing work during this year’s Killington World Cup experience! Their leadership, guidance, and endless volunteerism weeks up to and after the event aided in making the World Cup a success for not only our school community, but the greater Killington and international ski-racing community as well! Words will never be enough to express our gratitude for all that this group has done to aid in making this event possible here at our home mountain! Thank you!
Secondly, KMS would also like to recognize our faculty advisors for their tireless efforts in supporting as well as mentoring our student-athletes. KMS advisors work each and every day to assist our students in fully engaging with their KMS experience. From helping our students build their self-advocacy skills to assisting them and their families in connecting with our numerous support systems both in-house as well as through our community partnerships, our advisors go above and beyond in our Mission’s commitment towards whole student wellness. Thank you all for your dedication to our students and their families. They are lucky to have such caring and thoughtful professionals in their corner throughout the year!
KMS also would like to recognize several of our student-athletes this week. First to be recognized is Kaelen Lundberg, who was nominated by our Student Life Coordinator and Studio Art/Graphic Design/Photography teacher Eric Kuntz. Kaelen is a U18 Alpine athlete, who comes to KMS from Killington, Vermont. Kaelen was nominated for our community award for his efforts in assisting the KMS yearbook team this year. Through his hard work and skill at photography, Kaelen has produced an incredible shot of our mountain that will be used for this year’s cover! To get this photo he had to wake at 3 am and hike up to the top of the hill to get the right moment when the sunrise enveloped our mountain in all its glory! Thank you, Kaelen- you have made this yearbook even more special for our community this year!
Our second student-based recognition goes to a group of young men, who stepped up to help a younger peer when he was injured. Downhill Mountain Biker Jack Kiedaisch and Freeski athletes Simon Miller and Nico Ditursi showed amazing compassion, care, and encouragement to an athlete who had gotten injured during a training session this week. Not only did they make sure this athlete got to school okay and connected to the right faculty for injury assistance, but they also took the time to offer encouragement and support for the young man when he was struggling with the aftermath of his fall. They made it a point to tell him how well he was doing prior to the fall, and to not give up on developing those skills. For those faculty present, we were touched by this selflessness and could tell how much it meant to the young athlete in question. Thank you, gentlemen! This continues to show us all what phenomenal people you truly are.
Congratulations to all for receiving this recognition this week!
