The Chummy Broomhall Award is given out every year to a volunteer who embodies the ethos of Chummy who was the Chisholm Ski Club leader for 70 plus years, a 2x Olympian, and builder of the Olympic race courses for Palisades Tahoe, Lake Placid, and Black Mountain. He embodied the spirit of being a volunteer generously giving his time and energy to generations of skiers. It is in this spirit that this award be in his honor for the unsung heroes of ski racing. We are thrilled to share with you all that Carol Van Dyke of Stowe, VT and the Stowe Nordic Club is the winner of the 2022 Chummy Broomhall Award. Carol has made seemingly endless volunteer contributions to the ski community and she has positively impacted so many with her hard work, dedication, and tenacious spirit.
Carol grew up in Stowe, Vermont and first tried cross country skiing in 1973 at the Trapp Family Lodge. Since then she has been the Event Director for many events at the Trapp Family Lodge including the 2007 Bill Koch Festival, NENSA Eastern High School Championships, many Eastern Cups and UVM Winter Carnivals, a Super Tour, and NCAA Championships. Carol has three kids who all went through the Stowe BKL program where Carol was a BKL leader from 1996 to 2002 also coaching NENSA’s very own Youth & Introductory Program Director. She’s a former president of the Stowe Nordic Club, and was the Stowe High School Nordic ski coach from 2001 to 2018. Carol served as President of the NENSA Board from 2016 to 2022, is a USSS Level 2 certified coach, and a Level 1 Technical Delegate. Carol is also a long time instructor for the New England Women’s XC Ski Day event and this past year when injury meant she couldn’t ski, she still showed up to help doing any and all tasks possible.
Carol has volunteered countless hours of her time, energy, and expertise to the ski community. Long time race secretary and former Bill Koch League Committee Chair, Mary Anne Levins, shared, “What a joy to take a few moments to think about what Carol Van Dyke has done for NENSA and nordic skiing in the northeast over the last 2 decades. I met Carol on the NEBKL Committee and when she raised her hand to take on the NEBKL Festival in 2007, her life as a race director was launched. I know her best as a race director, though she has worn so many hats in the nordic community and has worn them stunningly well! Carol’s tireless attention to detail and her warmth and kindness to all people she comes in contact with has made for a perennially winning combination as a race director. Carol took her humble BKL Festival event director beginnings and quickly set a course for the top events. Along the way, she created a team of volunteers that could not and would not say no to her request for help. Whatever Carol seems to touch in NE nordic skiing, it blossoms. Our New England nordic community is so much richer in sport and community thanks in large part to Carol van Dyke. Cheers to you, Carol!”
Craftsbury Outdoor Center Director of Skiing, Ollie Burruss, wrote, “Carol Van Dyke is a race organizer’s dream volunteer. Whatever the event, whatever the need, Carol is there to offer her experience, her enthusiasm, and often her patience. From raising a family of racers to guiding the NENSA Board, Carol has seen every part of skiing in New England, all the while maintaining an indefatigable spirit and often throwing on a bib herself. Carol’s more recent forays into officiating have allowed her to turn that experience towards developing the next generation of racers, serving as a paragon of what it means to be truly immersed in making our ski community better. Bravo, Carol, and congrats.”
Stowe Nordic Club President George Jackman also had kind words to share about Carol saying, “Long before we became friends I knew Carol as one of the mainstays of nordic skiing in Stowe – if something was happening on skinny skis Carol was involved. Her involvement spanned everything from decades serving on the Stowe Nordic Club board, to BKL, coaching the high school team, running Eastern Cup races, serving on the NENSA board, and more. Her knowledge, passion, and commitment have made a huge contribution to our sport.”
And NENSA’s outgoing Executive Director, Amie Smith, who has worked closely with Carol for many years shared the following, “Carol has given so much to our New England Ski Community over the years – in so many areas – including being a Race Director/Organizer, Volunteer, TD and being on our NENSA Board of Directors since 2009. This May, Carol ended a six year stint (two 3-year terms) as President. She did an amazing job leading our Board, and worked with me over the past six years to advance NENSA, including helping to write a new Strategic Plan for our organization. Carol chaired the Executive and the Board Development Committees, and has been an integral part of our Personnel Committee. Even as Carol passed on the Board President baton, she continues as an incredibly valuable NENSA Board and committee member. We are lucky to have a person like Carol, who has given so much to our NENSA ski community through her various volunteer roles, to enhance and uplift our sport, and NENSA.”
We are so fortunate to have Carol in our ski community! She truly embodies the giving, selfless, and dedicated nature of Chummy and we are thrilled to honor her years of contributions with this award. Congratulations Carol!