Becky Shaw Ski Day on Friday

RUMFORD -- The eighth annual Becky Shaw Ski Day will be held on Friday at Black Mountain of Maine.

The proceeds from both regular lift tickets and “Becky Tickets” sold on that day will be donated to the Rebecca Shaw Paraoptometric Education Fund. This fund was created to honor the memory of Becky Shaw and her devotion to the education and training of paraoptometrics, which are allied health personnel who assist optometrists in providing the highest level of eye care to patients.

Some of their duties include front office procedures, chair-side assisting, pre-testing, contact lens instruction, frame styling and fitting, and vision therapy. Becky is the late wife of Dr. Lennie Shaw, who works with Dr. Peter Everett, Dr. Linda Cameron, and Dr. Janet Aug at Mountain View EyeCare of Rumford and Bethel.

Rebecca Keniston Shaw was born and raised in Bethel. She, her twin Rachel, and their sister, Martha began skiing when Mt. Abram consisted of a single slope served by a 1,000-foot T-bar, and their father was one of the parents who hauled gasoline in five-gallon cans to power the engine that ran the single lift on Barker Mountain at Sunday River.

Becky was educated at Gould Academy and the University of Maine at Farmington. After working and studying in St. Louis and Chicago, she lived in Boston where she met her husband, Dr. Shaw. They moved to Bethel, opened their optometric practice, and raised their twins, Jon and Jeni. At age six, with three years of Nordic skiing experience courtesy of their dad, Becky took the twins to Mt. Abram for their introduction to alpine skiing. In due time, they joined their dad teaching at the ski school and led the snowboard department.

In March 2003, Becky was killed in a car accident. In response to expressions of concern and queries from the optometric community, Dr. Shaw, mindful of Becky's strong advocacy for paraoptometrics, suggested that the board of directors of the Maine Optometric Association create a memorial fund dedicated to furthering paraoptometric education which they did.

The next day at Mt. Abram, many family members and friends gathered in celebration of Becky's life, skied together, reminisced, and spoke of meeting annually. Former Mt. Abram owners, Susan Burns and her husband, Josh, established an annual Becky Shaw Ski Day, with ticket sales proceeds donated to the Rebecca Shaw Paraoptometric Education Fund. The event was quite successful and became a tradition.

Given management changes at Mt. Abram and Dr. Shaw joining Mountain View EyeCare of Rumford and Bethel, Dr. Everett, a board member at BMOM, suggested a change of venue for the Becky Shaw Ski Day to Black Mountain. The Black Mountain of Maine Ski School also hired Jeni Shaw and Dr. Shaw, who are delighted to be teaching there.

The Becky Shaw Ski Day will be the kick-off to Black Mountain’s Annual WinterFest, which runs this Friday, through Sunday. Musicians Jewel Clark and Donnie Katlin, also friends of Becky Shaw, will begin their first set at 3 p.m. in the Black Mountain of Maine base lodge. Come have fun and join the celebration!