The president of the Mount Washington Alpine Resort has won the 2013 Jim Marshall Award.
Peter Gibson is the 34th recipient of the award, which is awarded by the Canada West Ski Areas Association for skills and dedication to his or her chosen profession and a meaningful contribution to recreational skiing.
The award was presented by Dave Gibson, president and CEO of the Marmot Basin Ski Resort, on the final day of the CWSAA 2013 spring conference at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna.
"In winning this prestigious award, Peter joins a list of highly respected leaders from the Western Canadian ski industry," said David Lynn, CWSAA president and CEO. "We congratulate him on his outstanding career achievements."
CWSAA board chair Kevin Fischer added, "Peter is a very worthy recipient of this award. I would like to congratulate him, and also thank him for his significant contributions to the Western Canadian ski industry."
Gibson was born Aug. 13, 1949 in Batu Gajah, Perak, Malaysia to Margaret and Dr. ‘Gaffer’ Gibson. The Gibsons emigrated to Canada in 1954, and lived briefly in Weyburn, Sask., prior to moving to Cranbrook in 1956. The Gibsons moved to Vancouver Island and the Comox Valley in 1960.
After graduating from Courtenay High School in 1967, Peter attended UBC and received a political science degree in Asian Studies and Chinese history. He also received professional teaching accreditation from the UBC Faculty of Education.
Upon graduation Peter decided to pursue a career in the ski industry. From 1974 to 1976 he worked at Grouse Mountain. In May 1977, Mount Washington was still in under development and Peter was employed running a chainsaw for the summer and acted as the first aid attendant.
In May 1979, Peter started full time at Mount Washington. Starting on the trail crew, he became director of skiing in 1979, guest services manager in 1989, resort services director in 1994, general manager in 1999 and president in 2001.
Peter has been a CWSAA board member for 11 years and currently serves as past board chair. Peter is a member of the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance and the Professional Ski Instructors of America.
He served on the board of directors on the Comox Valley Community Foundation for six years and is currently on the Board of the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation.
The CWSAA is the trade association that represents the ski areas of Western Canada. CWSAA has 119 regular members (ski areas) and 154 associate members (suppliers to the ski industry).
On an annual basis, CWSAA members in Western Canada receive nine million skier visits and generate revenues of approximately $800 million.
— Canada West Ski Areas Association