Strathcona Nordic Ski Club Board of Directors
Current Vacancies: Vice-President, Fund Development Director, Communications Director, Volunteer Director and Competition & Officials Director
If you have a few hours a month to spare and you are interested in one of the vacant positions or in assisting a director,
please contact info@strathconanordics.com. Your time and participation would be greatly appreciated and valued.
You can read our 2023 Monthly Meeting Minutes: January, February, March, June, September i, September ii, October, November, December
Past President – Len Apedaile
Len was club President for over 15 years. Len also sits on the Cross Country Canada Events Committee where he represents Canada on the FIS Cross Country Rules and Control subcommittee and is vice chair of the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Nordic Skiing Sport Technical Committee. Len is a level five cross country official and a licensed FIS and IPC Technical Delegate and currently does event officiating assignments at National and International level FIS and IPC events. Len has been the chief of race for three IPC World Cups and the Paralympic Winter Games and was the Cross Country Sport Manager for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In his spare time, he is a dad and husband and works as a consulting forester in Black Creek.
President – Wendy Johnstone
email: president@strathconanordics.com
I joined the SNSC in 2011 when my daughter, Carly started the JackRabbits program. I was Secretary for six years and am in my second year as President with the club and have, in past, volunteered with local races. Carly is currently in the Juniors program while I do my best to simply stay upright on skis. I’m a late to the game skier, have enjoyed the Master's Rec Program and being up on the mountain in the snow is my happy place.
I grew up in Ontario where there are no mountains; however, there is freezing cold sunny seasons. I used to snowshoe every year with my university programming and when visiting my family friends in Iroquois Falls. When we moved to the Comox Valley, we started off snowshoeing but then saw how much fun all the nordic skiers were having and literally bought skis the next week. I love being in nature, I love winter (so long as I’m dry and warm) and I love being challenged physically. Skiing provides all of this. Being able to do this as a family is the cherry on the cake and I have a dream of taking Carly to Switzerland or Denmark and skiing hut to hut or village to village.
I work in a provincial nonprofit organization as a Director and love being able to be of service to my community. In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, cycling, travelling and watching movies. And wherever and whenever, I love having my family along for the adventures.
Member at Large – Carolyn Harmatiuk
Carolyn began her membership with SNSC in 2013 when she started skiing with her three girls. Carolyn and her family have enjoyed a variety of programs including Rabbits, Devos, Juniors, Masters and coaching Rabbits. Carolyn was the SNSC treasurer from 2022-2023 and enjoys being able to give back to the club in a way that works for her busy family schedule.
When not on the snow or working, Carolyn and her family enjoy backpacking, biking and spending time at their off-grid property.
Secretary – Danielle Froese
Danielle has been cross-country skiing recreationally since childhood. After a brief foray into downhill skiing in high school, she re-discovered the delights of cross-country skiing in her 20’s and continues to look forward to getting back on the snow for fresh air and exercise every winter.
Danielle joined SNSC around 2010, after moving to the Island and hearing about the SNSC Masters Recreational Programs where she was excited to finally learn to skate ski. Danielle and her family have enjoyed many SNSC programs over the years, including Rabbits, Devos, and yet more Masters lessons for her and her husband in an increasingly futile attempt to keep up with their children.
Danielle enjoys cross-country skiing for the pure joy of exercising outdoors in a winter wonderland. She’s happy to have found a flexible way to give back to the Club in a way that works with her family and work life.
In her free time, Danielle also enjoys hiking, biking, reading, and knitting.
Athlete Development – Gillian Clayton
Gillian began her attachment to the club around 2019 with children in the Jackrabbits program. More recently she has become part of the Masters Race program, and is currently working on her L2T coach training, and will be coaching in the Jackrabbits program in the 2023/24 season. She has two children involved in SNSC.
Gillian likes to train a lot, and in her spare time is a Physiotherapist in the Comox Valley with her own clinical practice. Unlike some folk, she was not born a Nordic skier and grew up on the alpine side. Finally having her eyes opened when the excellent coaching in the Master’s Race program accelerated her commitment to helping within the club and brought her interest back to coaching.
Gillian’s athletic background varies from soccer (CIS National Gold Medalist), marathoner, professional triathlete (Ironman Canada Champion, ITU Long Distance National Elite), and now some interesting hybrid of ultra-runner/nordic skier who just bikes a lot and likes cinnamon buns. A lot.
Member at Large – Paul Chatterton
Ski School Program Director – Paul Brown
I started cross country skiing with my wife, Shirley, while in Medical School in Winnipeg. In 1976, we stayed at a lodge in the Laurentians and skied every day for a week. After a couple of days, I got rid of the skis I had bought at a Goodwill Store and bought new skis and boots so that I could keep up to Shirley. I also became enthralled with Jackrabbit Johannsen, a Norwegian, who cut many of the trails in the Laurentians. He was an amazing skier. He skied well into his 80's and lived to be 111.
Shirley and I introduced cross country skiing to all 3 of our sons through Jackrabbits, as it was called at that time. One of our sons, Graeme, went on to junior racing with ICCS, Island Cross Country Skiing. I was an assistant coach with that team until Graeme went on to university. Following that I continued to ski at Mt Washington and followed the growth of Strathcona Nordics.
I feel I have aged into the School Program. I started as an instructor in 2010. When the pandemic threatened to end the program in 2021, I took on the directorship. I believe it is a valuable program. Personally, I have great pleasure introducing children to cross country skiing and watching them have fun and develop skills. It's great for the students and it enhances our club's community profile.
Member at Large – Michaela Jelen
Michaela grew up in a snow-loving family in snow-filled Edmonton, AB. Regular trips to the Rockies were part of her childhood and started a life-long love of mountains. Since moving to Vancouver Island in 2008, Michaela and her partner have made Mount Washington a second home. They became members of Strathcona Nordic Ski Club in 2014 when their oldest daughter was a Bunny Rabbit. Michaela has coached many fabulous ski kids since 2017.
Having completed the Introduction to Community Coaching Course (ICC) and the Community Coaching Course (CCC), Michaela is now working her way through the Learn to Train course (L2T). You will often see her out on the mountain trying to keep up to her kids who are on the Strathcona Nordic racing teams.
During the off-season, Michaela is a part-time coach with the Devos racing team; she loves sharing her passion for fitness and the outdoors with a great group of young athletes and like-minded coaches. When she’s not spending time outside walking, hiking, running, biking, and skiing, she enjoys teaching fitness classes in the Comox Valley. Outside of recreation, Michaela works and learns in the field of early intervention and child development.
Coaching Development – Chris Bowlby
I became a cross country skier after spending years downhill skiing with my Dad and never being able to stay warm (originally from Southern Ontario). Once I found skinny skis, I knew this was something great. I loved the peace and tranquility of cross country skiing, the energy of skiing downhill without any edges, and the feeling of having a great workout in the snow.
I joined Strathcona Nordics in 2005, when I moved to the island. Then I moved up to the valley in 2012 and have really become involved in this amazing cross country ski community. I remain active in the sport and I enjoy the people I meet who share the same values of enjoying healthy and active lifestyles for all ages.
My partner is Jim and my fur baby is Lucie.
Skill Development Program (SDP) Director – Heather Macdonald
Heather has been a SNSC member for 5 years, and a board member since 2022. Although she grew up in the Comox Valley, she did not take up Nordic skiing until she lived in Calgary for a few years and got hooked after skiing in Canmore. Heather has coached Jackrabbits, and enjoys seeing young kids, including her own daughters, out on the trails. In her spare time, Heather enjoys running, cycling, hiking and being outdoors with her family.
Membership Director – Jim Meldrum
I seek all things snow, and especially if they involve 2 skis and some poles! I grew up skiing, became an alpine instructor while in school, then I taught adaptive alpine ski programs at Cypress and later Mt Washington. I telemark ski, backcountry ski and alpine ski and I find a special joy in a groomed Nordic ski track with a light dusting of fresh snow on top! I joined Strathcona Nordics in 2018 when one of my two sons expressed an interest. Since then our family of 4 hasn't looked back! Both of my boys are in race programs and my wife and I help out with races as officials and participate in Masters recreational programs. Above all we love the community spirit that this club offers.
Member at Large – Graeme Magor
What better way to mark semi-retirement (is that really a thing?) than to throw one’s toque into the ring as a Board member for our beloved ski club? Lynda and I moved to Comox Valley with our two daughters about 10 years ago. We met as triathletes, with strong running (Graeme) and rowing (Lynda) backgrounds. Skiing was cross training back then, back in rural Ontario, something to keep fit at over the winter when road biking was not an option. Here, it’s become a passion and a centrepiece for us, the sport we now build the athletic year around. There is also a passion for and fascination with the High Arctic…another story.
As director-at-large (i.e., without portfolio) I am keen to slot in wherever I can serve for the club, to build on the good work which has gone on before. I’d like to help make sure that we have good governance, good safety policies in place, and sustainability – so that we can all keep doing this thing we love called skiing.
Available Board of Director Positions
If you have a few hours a month to spare and you are interested in one of the vacant positions or in assisting a director, please contact info@strathconanordics.com. Your time and participation would be greatly appreciated and valued!
Vice-President —Vacant
Fund Development Director — Vacant
Competition & Officials Development Director – Vacant
Volunteer Director—Vacant
Communications Director—Vacant