BOARD OF DIRECTORS

	Mary Ellen Benier Board Member After many metamorphoses, Mary Ellen is currently coaching the Truckee Middle School Nordic team, teaching outdoor ed. with Gateway Mountain Center, making lattes at Truckee Book and Bean, and substituting in the school district. The constant thread in her life has been her love of everything outside and hoping to 'turn on' that feeling in upcoming generations. Her involvement with Far West all started with FW junior nordic racer, Stefan Benier.
	Juliet Bradley Board Member In 1957, at age 5, Julie began skiing "cross country" on her wooden skis chasing her dad through the NH woods in family fox and hounds games. In 1966, she got her first pair of genuine cross country skis (still wood) and started exploring the Appalachian hiking trail in winter. Her first exposure to groomed trails was when she moved to Truckee in 1988. That year, she learned to skate and raced in the Great Ski Race where she fell in love with ski racing and the friendly ski community. All three of Julie's children, Katrina, Brett, and Erika love to ski. Erika was a Far West Junior skier for several years. From her childhood to the present, skiing has been a favorite family activity.
	Michael Collins Board Member Born and raised in La Cañada, a Los Angeles suburb, Michael learned to ski in 2004 at Colby College (Waterville, ME) at age 20. He continues his life-long love for road and trail running in the off-season. He is a member of the Far West Nordic Farm Team and a coach for the growing Incline High School Nordic Ski Team. He likes the uphill bits.
	Mitch Dion Board Member Mitch Dion holds the record for being the tallest skier in the Tahoe region. He is easily identifiable by his unique style, oft described “a giant albatross on skis” at his home resort of Tahoe Donner. Mitch is the proud father of two Far West Juniors, Kelsey and Evan.
	Geoff Griffin Board Treasurer Geoff recently retired from a career in management consulting, specializing in marketing and new product development. Although he grew up in New Hampshire where skiing conditions can be a bit icy, after graduate school on the peninsula Geoff found better living conditions in the East Bay and snow conditions around Lake Tahoe. He has been a long-time downhill and backcountry skier, but after living in England for 7 years and with good friends in Oslo, Norway, Geoff “discovered” track skiing and has never looked back.
	Stacey Herhusky Board Member Stacey F. Herhusky was born in Lake Placid, New York. She and her husband, Mark (a Squaw Valley native) are the parents of two young junior racers and live on the North Shore. Stacey has been practicing law in the Lake Tahoe area for nearly 20 years and is currently a shareholder in Incline Law Group, LLP. Her practice emphasizes family law but she has also has taught Business Law at Sierra Nevada College. She has experience serving on other non-profit boards in our community. Although she laments the fact that she can no longer keep up with her children, she still enjoys alpine and nordic skiing as well as hiking and mountain biking in the summer months.
	Sally Jones Board Member Auburn Ski Club Nordic Director Sally has been coaching as a profession for almost 20 years. Her Nordic focus began in New Zealand, where she coached The National Junior Team before moving to California to develop & run the Nordic Ski Teams at The Auburn Ski Club. Under her leadership, the Ski Club has made its mark on the National scene by producing many successful athletes & being awarded The USSA's Cross Country Ski Club of The Year twice. Sally is well renowned for her eye for technique and her work at keeping athletes focused and centered.
	Chauncey Parker Board President Chauncey spent the ’70s and ‘80s teaching and guiding rock and ice climbing throughout the U.S. In the early 1970s, he began cross-country skiing in northern Arizona and skied for several years not realizing skis could maneuver with other than a step-turn or a kick-turn. He first taught skiing in the late 1970s at the Palm Springs Cross Country Ski Center. Active in Nordic racing in the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, he managed some top three finishes in the Tahoe region citizen races. In the late 1990s, Chauncey helped design and cut the trail system for the short-lived and much loved Atoma Cross Country ski center across from Mt. Rose Ski area. In 1990, he helped revive the long dormant UNR Nordic ski team and coached them at the NCSA level for two seasons before he turned his full attention to pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In 2004, Chauncey returned to the Tahoe area and has gradually resumed Nordic racing.
	Julie Rae Riggs Board Secretary Julie's love of skiing dates back to her midwestern roots growing up in Michigan and spans both the nordic and alpine skiing communities. Julie was introduced to the nordic world back in the early 1990's and since migrating westward, has become an avid backcountry skier, alpine and nordic skier and an all around mountain girl. Julie played an integral role in the development of the Sugar Bowl Freeride Team where her son, Galen was a dedicated Big Mountain skier and competitor before "retiring" and moving on to college. Julie's daughter Bria, is a Far West junior member and nordic racer and is planning to attend the Sugar Bowl Academy for her high school education where she will represent Far West Nordic and the SBA Nordic Team.
	Mike Shaw Board Member Mike is a California native who grew up in the Los Angeles area amidst the smog and haze. The enforced swimming lessons he endured as a kid enabled him to spend much time at the beaches in the L.A. and San Diego area. Swimming, body surfing and eventually board surfing provided an athletic outlet and the chance to breathe fresh air. He later attended U.C. Riverside and majored in foreign languages; he received another degree in Art History at Chico State. Both diplomas are in a box somewhere. After graduating from U.C. he decided to become a ceramicist which eventually led him to a career in glassblowing. Travelling overseas Mike lived and worked in Australia doing glass for several years. He currently works in his own studio. Cross country skiing is a relatively new sport for him and he enjoys the refreshing air while skiing the trails in the Tahoe area. Some trail running, cycling, a Cross Fit regimen and doing Agility classes with his Keeshond Toni round out the off snow activities. Mike is attracted to Far West Nordic because of their commitment to creating a better ski environment for the local communities. He has also been a participant in Auburn Ski Club's Masters Training group the past four seasons.
	Michelle Syben Vice President Board Member Michelle was born and raised in Laguna Beach, CA. Her parents met in Aspen Colorado where her father was on the ski patrol. Downhill and Nordic skiing have been part of her life since an early age, however she was more focused on competitive swimming in her youth, competing across the country in High School and swimming for Cal Berkeley as an undergrad. More recently (in modern times), Michelle and her family moved from Marin to Homewood "for a year or so", of course everyone feel in love with Tahoe and that year has been extended many times... She and her husband Gregor have two children, Dylan and Camille whom have both developed a strong passion for both Alpine and Nordic skiing. Dylan is a member of the Far West Comp team while Camille has just finished the strider glider's program.
	Fred Zabell Board Member Fred has been skiing for most of his life. He used to be better at it than he is now. Originally from Ohio, Fred moved to this area in 1979 and worked in the downhill ski business for 13 years. He owns and operates Alpine Mounting Systems/tahoeposters.com in Truckee, where he lives with his wife Karen and son Sam. Sam is a Far West junior nordic racer who attends Sugar Bowl Academy.