Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, the largest nonprofit in Vermont to provide year-round sports and recreational programs to people with disabilities, was awarded the prestigious 2024 Bill McCollom Community Award by the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, recognizing its transformative contributions to Vermont’s skiing and riding community. The award celebrates Vermont Adaptive’s commitment to accessibility, and empowering youth and adults with disabilities to experience outdoor sports and recreation.
“It is a true privilege to receive the Bill McCollom Community Award,” said Erin Fernandez, Vermont Adaptive’s executive director. “This award highlights our work, but also the community and spirit of inclusion that is defining Vermont. This recognition is a testament to our dedicated staff, volunteers, participants, and families, as well as our resort partners and generous donors who make it all possible.”
The award ceremony took place during the museum’s Hall of Fame induction at Killington Resort’s K-1 Lodge Saturday, Oct. 19.
Fernandez, along with Emily Cioffi Winchell, Vermont Adaptive’s board of director’s president, presented the award to Vermont Adaptive’s founder Laura Farrell during the ceremony.
“I am one of those very lucky people,” said Farrell, who founded the organization in 1987. “I had a dream, and all of these people have made it stronger and better over the years and kept it going. I am so lucky and so thankful.”
Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports has pioneered adaptive sports in the East, offering inclusive programming in skiing, snowboarding, paddling, cycling, mountain biking, Veterans programs, and more. The organization remains at the forefront of adaptive recreation, fostering self-confidence and independence for individuals with disabilities. For more information visit vermontadaptive.org.
About Vermont Adaptive
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports is a nationally recognized organization that empowers people of all abilities through inclusive sports and recreational programming regardless of ability to pay. In addition to sports, year-round programming options integrate environmental, holistic wellness, and competitive training philosophies for people of all ages with cognitive, developmental, physical, and emotional/behavioral disabilities. Sports and recreational opportunities include alpine skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports; kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddle boarding, cycling, mountain biking, sailing, rock climbing, horseback riding, Veterans programs and retreats, and more. More than 400 volunteers serve athletes from all over the world at three winter locations in Vermont – Pico Mountain at Killington; Sugarbush Resort in Warren; and Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton, as well as statewide in a variety of locations including the Burlington waterfront during the summer and warmer months. For more information, visit www.vermontadaptive.org.
Source: KILLINGTON, Vt. (Oct. 30, 2024) - Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports
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