Kelly Brush Davisson and the Kelly Brush Foundation honored with Spirit of Skiing Award
The New England Ski Museum’s 15th annual Spirit of Skiing Award will be presented on Saturday November 12, 2022 beginning at 5 PM at Sugarbush Resort in Vermont. Each fall the Museum honors a person or organization who personifies the memorable adage spoken by Otto Schniebs, the well-liked 1930s ski coach and instructor that “skiing is not just a sport—it is a way of life.” These individuals not only exemplify this motto but have contributed significantly to the progress, culture, and experience of skiing.
The 2022 Spirit of Skiing Award is awarded to Kelly Brush Davisson, a founder of the Kelly Brush Foundation, an organization that has been essential to the safety of ski racers around the country and, most importantly, the empowerment of people with spinal cord injuries to live active and engaged lives. Not only does the foundation offer significant grant monies to help individuals and organizations purchase equipment but they crucially inspire others to overcome their physical challenges and live an active lifestyle.
Kelly was a top alpine racer during her junior years as well as at Middlebury College on the NCAA EISA circuit. In 2006 she suffered a severe crash mid-race that severely damaged her spinal cord and forced her into a wheelchair (or mono-ski). She overcame this adversity, graduated from Middlebury on-time, and was awarded the prestigious NCAA Inspiration Award in 2009. Since then, both as an individual and through her foundation, Kelly has been incredible and tireless supporting those with spinal cord injuries and paralysis. As Ted Sutton, member of the New England Ski Museum’s Board of Directors and the person who nominated Kelly and the foundation says, “Her work has undoubtedly saved the lives of hundreds of skiers and ski racers because of the rise in awareness for greater safety measures on the hill.” Today, Kelly continues to ski, bike, golf, surf, and play tennis and inspire us all to continue being active regardless of our circumstances.
Previous Spirit of Skiing Award honorees include Phil Gravink, Stan Judge, Anna McIntyre, Alan Fletcher Sr., the Caldwell Family of Nordic skiing, Vermont’s Cochran Family, Cal Conniff, Preston Smith, Tyler Palmer, Bernie Weichsel, George Capaul, Penny Pitou, Herbert Schneider, SE Group, Stein Erickson and Tom Corcoran.
The Spirit of Skiing Award is given in conjunction with New England Ski Museum’s annual meeting. A reception and short business meeting precede the dinner, and when the meal is over the Spirit of Skiing Award is presented. Cost of the dinner is $125.00 per person and tables of 10 may be reserved for $1,250.00. All proceeds support the non-profit New England Ski Museum.