In honor of two "living treasures"

To the Editor:

As those who read this newspaper have no doubt noticed, we in the Chisholm Ski Club in the River Valley recently hosted the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at Black Mountain of Maine.

Despite very challenging weather conditions -- especially the lack of natural snow -- we were able to complete our full program of four race days. It would not have happened without our army of volunteers.

We would not have met the requirements of the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association for a national

championship venue without the tremendous cash and in-kind services of R.S. Pidacks, Nicols Bros. Logging, and United Insurance, among others, who gave tirelessly and generously to make it happen.

And we could never hope to staff such an event without the dedication of so many volunteers -- famous around the North American Nordic Ski community as the "Red Army" in their signature red club parkas -- many of whom have given decades of service to the club and to Nordic skiing in Maine.

The Chisholm Ski Club wishes to acknowledge two "living treasures" among us: internationally renowned icon of the sport, Wendall "Chummy" Broomhall -- still a driving force in the club at 91 years young, who has recently stepped down from his role of chief of competition; and Marie Boudreau, our longtime club secretary and race headquarters organizer par excellence, has just stepped down from her duties after decades of service.

While Chummy has been honored so many times over more than 70 years in the sport, we want to take the time to publicly honor Marie for her behind-the-scenes work that too often has gone unacclaimed but never unnoticed.

To you Marie, we accord the title "Living Treasure" and honor you with this limerick:

There once was a gal named Marie,

Devoted to those who did ski,

She took all the votes,

She counted the votes --

And cherished she always will be!

On behalf of the Chisholm Ski Club and its Board of Directors,

Ray Broomhall,

President