The Fernie Mountain Film Festival (FMFF) is a great venue for gathering people together to celebrate our mountain home here in Fernie, so we feel that the Festival is a perfect place for recognizing individuals who have given their time, their sweat and their individual talents to make Fernie a better place to live an active lifestyle.
The FMFF board created the Fernie Mountain Culture Award to celebrate the accomplishments of an inspiring individual and recognize their contributions to our local mountain culture. This person may be a trail builder, member of a community organization, an environmental steward, an adventure sport athlete, a scientist or an artist.
You can nominate a deserving individual for the annual award. The winner of the annual award will have their name included on a beautiful trophy built by Stephanie Rogers of Stephanie’s Art and Glass and sponsored by the film festival society. This trophy is living at Straight Line Bike and Ski shop for all the outdoor enthusiasts to admire!
To get the ball rolling the board of the film festival chose Pat Gilmar, and gave the award at last February’s film festival. Here is a profile of Pat:
Our first recipient has been called a “single-track mastermind, a visionary dude who toils at the crossroads between science and sickness, philanthropy and funk, radness and madness”. (Kootenay Culture Magazine).
He has been at the forefront of shepherding the Elk Valley Ski Touring Association into the Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club into the Fernie Trails Alliance. He has sat at the bargaining table of the Southern Rocky Mountain Management Plan and been a member of the Southern Rocky Mountain Advisory committee overseeing our playground and making sure our best interests are represented at all levels of government.
He not only is a multi-time race finisher but actually helps to design and deliver the Transrockies Mountain Bike Race. If you have ridden Verboten, Old Goat, or Snake Bite or have ventured onto Hyperventilation or further onto the Porcupine Rim trail then you have seen a portion of this man’s passion. His motto is “If you build it, you’d better maintain it’.
So if you know someone who is deserving of the Fernie Mountain Culture Award please fill out the below online nominations form: http://www.ferniefilmfestival.com/content/fernie-mountain-culture-award-nominations-0
