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.
	Mitch Dion Board Treasurer 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.
	John Gerbino Board Member John started XC skiing more seriously after moving to Tahoe from New York in 2005. The majority of John's career was in consumer credit risk management and marketing; his "claim to fame" was pioneering the FICO score that is now widely used by lenders to evaluate credit risk. With no illusions of being a top contender at the races, John enjoys challenging himself, particularly on long races. John is happiest on days when he's out on classic skis in kick wax conditions. John has made many new friendships through this sport and he enjoys the spirit of camaraderie he finds in masters racing; he also believes XC skiing is a key component of "staying young" and that racing really helps you become a better skier (which translates to more fun on the trails).
	Geoff Griffin Board Vice-President 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.
	Don Heapes Board Member "I have lived in the area since 1973 and after 7 years of professional ski patrolling at Sugar Bowl and Alpine Meadows have been involved in custom home construction at Lake Tahoe. I fell in love with cross country skiing while working at Sugar Bowl in the years when Royal Gorge was just getting going. Pam DeRyke and I are the proud parents of North Tahoe High and Far West skier Miles Heapes and we are hoping to give something back to the local Nordic community who have provided such incredible friends, teammates and coaches in our sons life. Our family lives in Rubicon Bay and I also serve on the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Education Foundation Board of Directors."
	Dan Hill Board Member
	Joan Jones Board Member
	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.
	Mike McElravey Board Member
	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 Member 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.