Page 63 - Flathead Beacon // 1.28.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM SPORTS LURCHING FROM ONE
JANUARY 28, 2015 | 63
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Rotary~
MAKING OF A COMMUNITY!
Ever wonder how projects in the community get ac- complished? Ever think who is behind the efforts that make our community a better place? Rotary has been the driving force in numerous community projects:
• Coordinates and administers Ro- tary Basketball for over 900 youths annually and has since 1978
• Raised funds to construct the Babe Ruth Baseball Fields at Kidsports- Rotary is the longest running sponsor of a Babe Ruth baseball team in Kalispell
• Major donor to Glacier Symphony & Chorale youth programs
• Supports Boys Scout Troop and sponsored a new troop
• Ring bells for Salvation Army annually
• Built the handicap ramp at the Friendship House
• Donated to local Food Banks, Flathead Youth Home, Serious Ju Ju Skatepark, Hockaday Center for the Arts and Central Museum
• Installed a bench and clock in Depot Park
• Assisted in rebuilding Conrad Mansion stone wall
• Helped construct the Lone Pine Overlook Walkway
• Purchases and distributes dictionaries to all Montana third graders
• Raised funds to construct Miracle League Field at the Kidsports complex
• Assisted the United Way in construction of the Youth Center and the Big Brothers Big Sisters offices
All this by just ONE of the SIX Flathead Valley Rotary Clubs!
Evergreen - Tues. 12:00pm @ Perkins
Whitefish - Tues. 12:00pm @ Moose Lodge 642
Bigfork - Wed. 12:00pm @ Methodist Church
Columbia Falls - Wed. 12:00pm @ Back Room
Kalispell Daybreak - Thur. 7:00am @ Buffalo Hills Golf Course Kalispell Noon - Thur. 12:00pm @ Hilton Garden
NEAR DISASTER TO ANOTHER... Warren Miller Ski Film Career
I’VE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO HAVE pointed my cameras at dozens of brand-new ski resorts in America and Europe starting way back in 1947 when I shot footage with my 8mm cam- era at a new resort in Colorado called Aspen. It boasted the world’s longest chairlift and lift tickets cost a whopping $4 a day and accommodations could be purchased at Ed’s Beds for $3 a night in a dorm. Of course, dormitories were all they had.
In November of 1949, I first turned my 16mm camera on a new ski resort in California called Squaw Valley. It boast- ed one double chairlift, two rope tows and accommodations for 40 people.
That was the first winter with my 16mm camera and the beginning of what became an annual pilgrimage for me traveling all over the world to share the footage. It seemed as though over the years I was privileged to document al- most every new ski resort anyone built.
Most of these new ski resorts had al- most no budget for marketing and I was able to camp out in whatever accommo- dations were available and introduce my audiences to new places from Sugarbush in Vermont to Mammoth Mountain in California, and everything that was built in between.
When Vail opened in 1962, I was lucky enough to be filming in the Back Bowls when the total lift ticket sales for the day were $8.
Since these new resorts had no mar- keting money, I would produce the mov- ie and take my expenses in raw land at the same price the developers pay for it.
When Chamonix, France, decided to build a new gondola I was lucky enough to fly to the summit with a world cham- pion skier in a French army helicopter and film the first person up at 10,000 vertical feet to cut untracked powder snow and bring it back to my audiences all over the United States and Canada.
I filmed the birth of Keystone, Cop- per Mountain and Breckenridge, Colo- rado, and watched a four-lane freeway change from an hour and a half drive from Denver to a seven-hour traffic jam on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
Over the years I managed to partici- pate in the creation of 65 feature-length ski films that averaged between 15 and 20 different ski resorts each year.
The first year that Walt Stopa started up a man-made snow machine in Wis- consin, luck was once again on my side when I introduced man-made snow to tens of thousands of people that first year it was in operation.
Over the years my 16mm camera be- came a magnet for skiers the world over. Unfortunately, in today’s world the con- struction of new resorts is virtually a thing of the past.
In today’s world of lightweight elec- tronic, high-performance cameras, the capabilities of reproducing nature are much easier than the cameras and edit- ing equipment we used in the old days.
Today there are two new generations of ski and snowboard filmmakers and I applaud every one of them for exploring the limits of filmmaking.
My only wish is for there to be many more new and bigger resorts for them to point their cameras at.
We were very lucky when I was mak- ing movies because we only had one for- mat – the 16mm film, a 16mm projec- tor, a dark room and exciting images on a white screen.
It used to be very expensive with a 100-foot roll of Kodachrome, including processing for screen time that captured the same images that today electronical- ly cost almost zero.
I’ve been asked quite often if I had my career to do over, would I change any- thing? The only thing I would change would be to get along with a lot less sleep and make a whole lot more movies.
For more of Warren’s wanderings go to www.warrenmiller.net or visit him on his Face- book page at facebook.com/warrenmiller. For information on his Foundation, please visit the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation, at www.warrenmiller.org.
is in need of active board members!
We are especially in need of a Concession Stand Coordinator and 4th of July Tournament Director. These positions will also entail periodic field maintenance, equipment managing, monthly meetings, and general help during the season. The same people have been involved for many years and have kids now in other ages of sports. Without the help of new people stepping in, local Babe Ruth Baseball could be in jeopardy. This is a very fun and interactive way to be a part of local baseball!!
For more information please call Kiersten at 261-8028 or email at [email protected]
REMINDER: THIS YEAR SIGNUPS WILL BE HELD THE LAST TWO SATUR- DAYS IN FEBUARY FROM 10:00 – 2:00 AT THE KALISPELL CENTER MALL.