November 1, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Justin Koski
906-235-1670
[email protected]
U.S. NATIONAL SKI & SNOWBOARD HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM, INC. ANNOUNCES ITS ANNUAL WOMEN IN SNOWSPORTS INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS
ISHPEMING, MI – The U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. has announced their Annual Women in Snowsports Industry Award recipients: Maria Bogner (2022 award), Diane Boyer (2021 award), and Cheryl Jensen (2020 award). With COVID-19 causing a delay, this year all three recipients of the award will be honored at Big Sky, Montana at the 2023 Industry Celebration during a special presentation prior to the Gorsuch Preview Fashion Show on Friday, March 24th, 2023 at 3pm.
Maria Bogner has been chosen as the 2022 Women In Snowsports Industry Award recipient. Her contributions to the Snowsports Industry with the advent of fashionable and functional stretch ski wear are monumental on the National and International stages. In the early 70’s, Bogner outfitted a large number of Skiers who were the pioneers of freestyle. Dubbed the ‘Coco Chanel of sportswear’ by Der Spiegel, she elevated sportswear to sports fashion. Setting up an American factory and offices in Vermont that still stands, her designs and fabrications have set high standards for the sportswear, sports fashion and ski wear designers to come.
Our second honoree to be celebrated in Big Sky is Diane Boyer, our 2021 Women in Snowsports Industry Award recipient. A consistent leader in a male-dominated industry, Boyer was the founding member of the Stratton Mountain Freestyle Team in 1971, and one of the first women to attend Dartmouth College. In 1976, she started working for her family owned company, SKEA, and in 1992, she became president. She then became a member of SnowSports Industries America (SIA) board and worked her way from the third vice chair up to the first female Chairman of the SIA board. She has also been elected to the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame in the category of sport builder.
We will also be celebrating Cheryl Jensen, the 2020 Women in Snowsports Industry Award honoree at Big Sky this upcoming year. In 2003 after a meeting at the Pentagon, Cheryl discovered that there was an opportunity to use the healing powers of the mountains to assist severely injured combat Veterans. She went to work and soon the Vail Veterans Program would begin flying Veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. to Vail, Colorado. From there, the program taught Veterans to ski and snowboard through the adaptive ski school so that they could enjoy the healing powers of the Rocky Mountains, all expenses paid.
This award, given annually, provides recognition to the outstanding women whose lifetime contributions have shaped our sports in the US. The recipient of this award is a pioneer of the industry who has made an extraordinary impact through innovation, product design and functionality, fashion, marketing or any area within the industry.
Women recipients of this award ultimately have contributed to the growth and health of our industry. Their efforts deserve ample recognition and this award will be a great platform to do just that.
To read more about the Women in Snowsport Industry Award or to obtain photos, visit skihall.com/women-industry-award. To see the full Industry Celebration and Induction Ceremony 2023 schedule at Big Sky, Montana, visit skihall.com/induction/schedule.
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