Honoring Our Greats

by | Feb 24, 2026 | Spotlight Articles

Editor’s Note: Last year, Western Appalachian YAP Advisor Anna Hermann was awarded the Women’s Program Scholarship in Memory of Deborah Stitt. She used the scholarship to attend the February Patroller School at Killington. Deb was a dear friend of Anna’s so receiving the scholarship was very personal. The following is Anna’s tribute to Deb Stitt.

I finally sat down after the patroller school event at Killington, February 2026 and had a Miller Lite, Deb’s favorite. While I was writing this article I spent time reminiscing about the great times we had and wishing we could have had more time together.

I was honored to receive the Women’s Scholarship in Deb’s honor. It was incredible to spend the weekend working on patroller skills, something my Deb Stitt would absolutely be pushing me to do. But in all honesty, much of the time was spent thinking about my dear friend, whom I have been grieving for the past few years.

I was in my early 20s when I met Deb. I was already a patroller when she joined, but she quickly became both a mentor and a close friend. Deb taught me many things, the last being how to grieve.

Deb took me under her wing, not just as a patroller, but as a young woman. She gifted me a ski patrol neck gaiter, spent time teaching me how to be a confident woman, a strong female patroller, and gave me a crash course in golf when a group was short a member for our annual Blue Knob fundraiser. Deb founded that fundraiser, and the tradition faded after she passed. She empowered young women to be confident and to become the best versions of themselves.

I consider the opportunity to grieve a friend this deeply to be an honor. They say grief is love with nowhere to go. I take my grief to the slopes.

The ski patrol community has gifted me many friendships. With a larger community comes more loss. We learn and evolve from our mentors and friends within ski patrol, and we also learn how to navigate the loss when that time comes.

Ski patrol shapeshifts as the years go on, but we remember the greats, most importantly, our greats. Who taught you to be the patroller you are today? Who taught them?

We think of our greats as we carve beautiful turns on a bluebird day, or after working a difficult accident. I wear that neck gaiter she gifted me every time I hit the slopes, never daring to swap it out for a warmer one – even in sub zero temperatures at Killington. Deb was right there with me at patroller school making turns and running sleds. We remember and we honor.

To Deb and to all the other fallen greats, we raise a glass and carve a turn.

 

Kudos to the YAPs!

by | Apr 15, 2025 | Program News

Every March, without fail, I look forward to the Eastern Division YAP Summit. It’s a significant event for many young adults, but I’m just like them—eager to hit the slopes, ski the trees and bumps, and find the good trouble we can get into. I’m always excited to learn something new (you’re never too old to learn something new), to watch the YAPs in the enhancement track gain confidence and knowledge in just three short days, and to see the competition groups cheer each other on. Of course, the awards banquet is always bittersweet. I’m never quite ready for the weekend to end, but I’m thrilled to see where the YAPs place and what cool swag they win. It’s truly an honor to return each year as a shepherd—arguably the best role anyone can have over the weekend, aside from being a YAP.

At the 2025 Summit, the staff decided to try something completely different—something far from the usual outdoor evening activity. The groups had the unique opportunity to create their senior-level scenarios and run them as instructors. Various chaperones, staff, and other adults were invited to participate as patrollers on the scene. For those fortunate enough to be there, well, it’s one for the books. Kudos to the creativity of these young adults!

A kind parent shared a few words about their YAP, whom I had the honor of shepherding and chaperoning—someone I hadn’t met before the event. This will be marked as the weekend she learned how to ski the bumps!

From the parents’ perspective
—I just wanted to thank you and your team for such a great event this past weekend.
—My daughter had a fabulous time.
—She made great friends, challenged her skills, and significantly grew her confidence.
—She is already excited to sign up for next year.
—I thought the event was extremely well-organized and well-run.
—Everybody was so nice and accommodating. I felt 100% comfortable letting my daughter go and do her thing.
—Your hard work did not go unnoticed.
—I cannot say enough good things.
—Have a great rest of the year and see you next year!
—Thank you again for such an amazing program.

Did somebody say SWAG?

This year didn’t fall short of being amazing. There was great skiing, fantastic OET and OEC instructors, and, best of all, an OUTSTANDING group of Young Adults! This year’s event was the largest by far, with 83 YAPs! That may seem like a large number, and no doubt it is, but over the weekend, shepherds get to know all their YAPs and unique backstories. We are truly fortunate in the Eastern Division to have such a strong program, where the hard work of the staff at every level—from division, region, and mountain—culminates in an event like this, reflecting the dedication and effort that flows through this division program. This is the future of our division; these are our future leaders.