Kait Miller

NENSA is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 Bill Koch League Leadership Award is John Ogden of West River Nordic. John Ogden, aka JO, JohnnieO, Ogden, or Fox’s Assistant, is best known for his annual job as the Relay Race Starter at the BKL Festival and can be seen sporting a colorful wig or outlandish sunglasses or a grass skirt (or a combination of all three).

His booming voice ringing out over the kids lined up in the start line with course instructions—“What’s the most important thing to remember out there? That’s right! Have FUN!” And with a wave of his hand they’re off, sprinting down the stadium. For many of these kids his encouragement is the lighthearted but critical reminder to relax and enjoy the race.

Mary Anne Levins, chair of the New England BKL Committee, and longtime friend of Ogden’s remembers one of the many Festivals they’ve worked together, “I think the best was his broken ankle/leg (from a mid-winter wilderness ski holiday) in 2007. We put him down at the far end of the field at Trapps to start each relay…. all day… no help… NASTY weather. We all took cover and he would radio us now and again and we would continue to encourage his great work, afraid to ask if frostbite had set in on the foot or not… while we remained warm and cozy in timing. Eight festivals after his inaugural Relay starter position in Bethel, he is still at the helm of the Festival relay, and more importantly, he continues to set the ‘rules’ of only positive energy allowed at the NEBKL Festival… for racers and parents alike!! This award couldn’t go to a more influential person of NEBKL over the last 12 years!!  His attitude and perspective on what NEBKL is and can become is infectiously positive and a vital component to the overall success of the program for the last 12 years!”

Ogden embodies the true spirit of BKL: fun, community, and a lifelong and deep love of the sport. He knows the importance of a positive attitude and always shows up with a smile, always willing to help, ready to throw himself fully into the whatever the task is: wrangling kids, sorting bibs, marking courses, handing out awards, controlling crowds, or just cheering on the sidelines. Chloe Levins says that he is “New England’s number one cheerleader!” remarking on his loud voice that carries along the course. Among other important positions, he is a famed “target washer” at the annual Mountain Top Paintball Biathlon, maintaining his grin despite constant heckling from race organizers and officials.

His willingness to give extends way beyond his own club or local BKL races that attends or organizes. Poppet Boswell, co-District Chair of Southern VT (with Ogden) laughs that he just can’t say no. “Basically, wherever John is, there’s a good time and a can do attitude. John has been known to invite our whole SMS crew over to the fields around his house on which he had groomed trails in years with low snow. He has groomed tracks for us on a local forest service road for practices.”

When the first day of the 2013 BKL Festival had to be canceled because of the Boston Blizzard, John was the first one to organize a ski tour in the woods behind the hotel, taking kids on a real urban adventure. He sees the positive and makes things happen; at the root of his motivation is joy and giving kids lasting memories.

One of the featured presenters at all of the BKL Coaching Clinics in the last four years, he has lead discussions on healthy competition, coaching various ages and abilities in a group, and how to structure a program. He has years of skiing experience, both with his own children (he has three—Katharine, Ben, and Charlotte) and the ones he coaches at West River Nordic, his Southern VT BKL Club. Whatever the activity, he stresses that his most important tool is his afternoon cup of coffee because to be successful with kids you have to “meet energy with energy!”

Sverre Caldwell, Stratton Mountain School Coach, has known John for a long time and has seen firsthand the benefits of a healthy BKL program. “John does a great job of combining expertise and enthusiasm with his BKL group. He will always be the first on to don a funny costume and has a knack for recounting crazy stories. John embodies what we look for in a leader for our BKL skiers.”

Kate McNay Koch, a friend and fellow leader says “John O brings great enthusiasm and energy to our West River program. He doesn’t dumb down his skiing for the kids.  When he plays games or jumps in relays, he goes all out. It pushes them. The kids know when they tag him, or when they are older and flat out beat him, they have arrived; he never gives it away.”

Ogden’s main motivation is fun and he walks the walk, with his own family and with his friends. Jonathan Bigelow, one of Ogden’s good friends and coach of the Burr and Burton High School Nordic Team says, “John loves to see kids go fast, and he loves to give little pointers about how to ski the corners, milk the rollers, and gain time on the downhills. He just can’t help it, and there’s no sense in trying to deny this. But the truth is that this is not at the center of skiing for him. He just loves to see kids out on skis, being active, being outdoors, being engaged in the world around them. Strip away the competitions, and he would still be out there getting kids to ski.

John is incredibly tough and able as a skier/outdoorsman, and he will badger you into the most outrageous adventures. Sometimes I will be visiting with my mom, and I will tell her, “John called, and he thinks we should… ” It’s right at that point that my mom will cut me off and say, “Oh, Honey, I don’t think you should go off with John. You’ll probably get in over your head.”  But John is incredibly generous when you are out with him. He’ll push you, and the whole time he’s looking out for you. He’s got the extra energy bar and thermos stuffed down in his pack, and quite frankly, if you really get into trouble, he’ll just put you on his shoulders and ski you out.

From my own perspective, and I know this will sound ironic, I think those of us who get involved with BKL sometimes get too focused on kids. It’s all about the kids we say to ourselves, and so we scurry around making things right for them. As much as anything kids need to see us adults doing these activities. If we say skiing is a life-long love, we need to live it and model it. This is JO! Oh, he loves to put on a show and wear the goofy wigs, but I think the real impact is that he so clearly loves being outside sliding on snow. You can’t fake that, and there’s nothing showy about it.”