The Colorado Snowsports Museum, due to coronavirus concerns, has decided to cancel its 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Gala, originally slated for Oct. 17. The museum will honor the 2020 class at an in-person event in fall 2021.
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“We have a tremendous responsibility to be able to ensure the safety of everyone involved with the Induction Gala evening, as well as complying with county and state regulations that have been implemented to help control the virus. While it will be hard to not have an induction celebration this fall, we look forward to enshrining our Class of 2020 once the current situation has subsided,” said Diane Boyer, Chairwoman of the Hall of Fame’s board of directors, in a press release.
Typically, the gala draws more than 400 guests, well over the maximum gathering size limit of 175 people, per state and county public health orders. The museum had discussed doing a virtual ceremony, but decided against it.
“We wanted to ensure that our Hall of Fame Class of 2020 did not feel slighted in any way by trying to force something at this point in time. The inductees are all in agreement that this is the best course of action and are looking forward to next fall,” said the museum’s Executive Director Jen Mason. “As James Niehues said, ‘Patience is a virtue.’”
This year’s inductees were announced on April 18. The 2020 class includes:
- James Niehues, Colorado native and artist of more than 200 iconic ski resort trail maps in Colorado and around the world
- Dave Stapleton Jr., former U.S. Ski Team and professional racer who has dedicated his career to strengthening the Aspen Valley Ski Club
- Ellen Post Foster, a former world class international freestyle competitor who helped create the current foundation of knowledge in the snowsports education field, now working at Beaver Creek
- Scott Rawles, a former professional mogul skier and U.S. Ski Team Moguls coach responsible for Olympic medalists such as Toby Dawson, Jeremy Bloom and Hannah Kearney, now living in Breckenridge
- 2020 Pioneer Hall of Fame selection: Pam (Conklin) Pettee of Telluride, who blazed a trail in the promotion and media relations arenas for the Colorado ski industry, with stints at Vail, Colorado Ski Country USA and Telluride, in addition to being a ski industry lobbyist, accomplished public relations consultant and freelance ski writer
The Colorado Snowsports Museum is still open, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information about 2020 happenings at the museum, visit snowsportsmuseum.org.
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