Vermont Sports January

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eader athlete By Phyl Newbeck GLEN FINDHOLT Age: 66 | Residence: Underhill | Family: Sons, Erik and Colin; dog, Mia | Occupation:Ski instructor/patroller, boat captain Primary sport: Skiing and sailing FRIENDS SAY GLEN FINDHOLT IS LIVING THE GOOD LIFE. HE SKIS IN THE WINTER AND SAILS IN THE SUMMER, BUT IF YOU DIG A BIT DEEPER THERE’S A LOT MORE TO THOSE ACTIVITIES. FINDHOLT SPENDS A LOT OF TIME ON THE SLOPES BECAUSE HE’S A VOLUNTEER MEMBER OF THE SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH SKI PATROL AND HAS BEEN A SKI INSTRUCTOR THERE FOR DECADES. AS FOR SAILING THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, HE DOES SO IN MEMORY OF HIS LATE WIFE MARIE, ON BEHALF OF A NON-PROFIT CALLED HEALING WINDS VERMONT, WHICH PROVIDES LAKE CHAMPLAIN OUTINGS FOR CANCER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. VS: How long have you been a skier GF: More years than I want to admit. I started skiing in my backyard in Connecticut when I was five. It seemed very steep at the time. In 1974, I decided a good way to pay for my skiing habit would be to get involved with teaching. That’s when I started working at Smugglers’ Notch on weekends. VS: When did that become a full-time job GF: I served 30 years of a 30-to-life sentence in corporate America and was paroled in 2000. That year IBM decided they needed to get smaller and any employee, regardless of age, who had worked there for 30 years could retire with a full pension. That’s when my Saturday/Sunday job became a Monday through Friday job. VS: Is it rewarding GF: It’s dealing with people who are at their best because they’re on vacation. They’re out of their element and away from home and getting rid of the stresses of their normal Monday through Friday lives and sharing that joy with you. I have quite a few people who come back year after year. Some have been skiing with me for over a decade. VS: Recently you decided to add ski patroller to your resume. How did that happen GF: According to my friends, in 2004 I failed retirement. I bought a business called the Whistling Man Schooner Company and began taking people out on Lake Champlain on a boat called the Friend Ship Sloop every day during the summer for two to three hours at a time. It was a lot like teaching people to ski because you’ve got people either on vacation or out of the office for a day so they’re at their best. It occurred to me that although the Coast Guard does a fine job of responding to emergencies, there is a time delay and my first responder skills were not very good. One of my patroller friends suggested that a good way to fix that would be to take the ski patrol’s Outdoor Emergency Care course which was 10 to 12 Sundays over the summer. I had no intention of actually patrolling. I just wanted to improve my skills, but when I was done they suggested I take the on-snow training so I could help out at the mountain. I did and I was accepted as a volunteer patroller and found that I kind of liked it. VS: You temporarily gave up the sailing life in 2012. Tell us about that. GF: When I bought the business I promised my wife it would be a five-year project and I milked it for eight years. When I bought it, it was more a hobby that was losing money than a business and it took about five years for me to get it in the black by doing almost everything myself. Even though we had been married for a long time, Marie said she still liked having me around. I enjoyed the work but it made for long days so I sold it in May of 2012. That gave me a year with Marie before her cancer diagnosis in April, 2013. She died that September. VS: And that brought you to a new life on the water, didn’t it GF: In January, a ski patroller who had been asked to be on the board of directors of Healing Winds Vermont talked to me about that non-profit since I had sailing experience. Healing Winds Vermont offers free sailing trips to cancer patients and their families. He hoped I could do some consulting work and review their business plan. A month later as I was sitting in a bar at my annual ski trip to Revelstoke I got a text message from another friend telling me I’d been elected to the Board of Directors. I did some research and thought it was a great organization and a great way for me to do something in Marie’s memory, so I agreed to join them. VS: Your involvement doesn’t stop with the board, does it GF: I started attending board meetings and when the donated boat arrived from Maryland, I realized it wasn’t in really good condition. I also discovered that the other people on the board all had lives and responsibilities and since I was the retired guy who knew something about boats, I dove into getting the boat ready and usable. I had help from volunteers and Suzanne Johnson who is the founder of Healing Winds Vermont, a breast cancer survivor, a single mom and a very driven individual. She’s a full-time realtor, as well as working full-time for Healing Winds. Part of the reason I was invited to join the board is that she has cancer patient experience but we also want to pay attention to the caregiver side where I have experience. We got the boat ready and had our first sail on June 26. My job is twofold: I’m chair of the board of directors since nobody else wanted the job, and I’m the lead captain. We went out 30 times this summer with 114 guests and I was the captain on almost all of them. We made a decision in the spring to only employ licensed captains although the Coast Guard doesn’t require it since no money changes hands. That cut the cost of our insurance but it also gives the people who sail with us more confidence. We’ve tried to run the boat as though it’s a Coast Guard inspected vessel. I even brought on a Coast Guard inspector to give us a drill and inspect the boat unofficially. VS: What has your experience with Healing Winds Vermont been like GF: It’s been incredibly rewarding. These patients and their caregivers are very life affirming. Our target is people who are in treatment and those who have been told they are terminal. Perhaps the most uplifting people are the terminal patients. They say, “Hey, I might not have much time so I better make the best of every day I’ve got,” so they’re wonderful to be with. People are very appreciative, but I always say to them “you don’t need to thank me. You’ve given me an excuse to go sailing.” I really enjoy doing this. I come home tired at night, but feeling really good. Phyl Newbeck lives in Jericho with her partner, Bryan, and two cats. In the winter she alternates skiing with Nordic skating, while the summers find her on her road bike, swimming or kayaking. She is the author of Virginia Hasn’t Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving. 20 VTSPORTS.COM JANUARY 2015
JENNIFER VAUGHAN reader athlete By Phyl Newbeck Age: 56 | Residence: Williston | Family: Husband, Richard; dogs, Daisy and Olive | Occupation: Retired English and literature teacher Primary sport: Hiking, rock climbing, running and cycling JENNIFER VAUGHAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ACTIVE, OUTDOORS PERSON, BUT THESE DAYS HER ATHLETICISM IS BEING USED FOR A HIGHER GOAL. ALTHOUGH HER DOG DAISY AND A PREVIOUS DOG NAMED ELLIE WERE THERAPY DOGS, VAUGHAN HAS BEGUN TRAINING WITH HER YOUNGEST DOG, OLIVE, TO DO SEARCH AND RESCUE. VS: How did you get started with canine search and rescue JV: My first two golden retrievers were therapy dogs, but when I was in Utah I saw avalanche dogs on the chairlift and was intrigued. I had read about search and rescue dogs and the work they did on 9/11 and I had heard their handlers talk on NPR. Two years ago I went to Pet Food Warehouse and the folks from Vermont Search and Rescue K9 (VSARK9) were there. I was curious and they told me to bring Olive over so they could test her. I did and she passed and one thing led to another. VS: What makes a good search and rescue dog JV: The first test is whether they have a drive for something. It’s usually food or a toy and Olive is motivated for both. She has a tug toy that has food in it which we use as her training toy. Olive is certified for search and rescue by the International Police Work Dog Association. She’s had exposure to cadavers and to water searches but her certification is in wilderness air scent. I take her out and have her sniff for a new smell. She’s so focused; she doesn’t go looking for scat or chasing bunnies. She’s focused on finding that new human scent. It took a year and a half for Olive to be certified. We’ve taken part in one search and rescue operation with seven other K9 teams and have been called for two others where the person was found before we got there and that has been very exciting. On the training exercises Olive has been really good and as she’s learning, I’m learning. VS: So what makes a good search and rescue human JV: There’s a lot to learn. There is wilderness first aid, canine first aid, and land navigation. First you learn it in the daytime and then you have to do it at night. Since Olive does scent training, I have to be good at reading the air. I’ve also learned about the different types of searches which depend in part on the terrain. I’ve learned about lost person behavior and also about crime scene preservation, although in those situations in Vermont you probably have the police with you. When we go out we carry a radio, a GPS and a backpack for first aid. I watch Olive and I know her body language. As soon as she gets a new scent she becomes animated and leaves me and I have to mark the spot so I can come back to it. When she finds the person she comes back to me and jumps up and puts two feet on my front which is the indicator. I tell her to show me the person and when she gets there she lies down so I can tend to them. She can’t get her party – that’s what we call it – until I tend to the person, but then she gets her treat and gets to play. She really loves it. She knows what she’s doing and it’s so amazing to work with her. I love it, too. It’s so exciting and addictive. VS: This isn’t the first time you’ve worked with your dogs, is it JV: My older dog Daisy was a therapy dog. She worked five years at the hospital and two years at the prison, but she’s retired. My previous dog Ellie was also a therapy dog. VS: How often do you train with Olive JV: We train twice a week. I also practice my navigation skills on my own, both during the day and at night. This year I did two competitions, the Iron Dog and the Bitter Pill, in order to be more competent at navigation. The Iron Dog is run by the Vermont Police Canine Association. The Bitter Pill is run by the Green Mountain Adventure Racing Association and I did it with my search and rescue partner. We came in last, but we had a great time. There was bushwhacking, kayaking and mountain biking. You start in the dark on the backside of Camel’s Hump with a map, a headlamp and a pack in which you have to carry your life preserver and your helmet among other things. It was a great race. VS: Does this take up all of your spare time or do you still have time to run and bicycle JV: I still run. I like running because I can do it anywhere and by myself. I still do the occasional half marathon. I also like to bicycle with my friends and every year I do the Kelly Brush Century. I’m really more of a solo person when it comes to sports although I have a few friends that I do things with. I do running, hiking and cycling for cardio and I do yoga once a week because stretching is critical. VS: For a while you were doing sprint triathlons, weren’t you JV: About six years ago I was introduced to a young man who was in his second year of medical school. He had started a triathlon company with coaches and nutritionists across the country and was trying to juggle that and medical school. I took over management for him and decided that I needed to do some triathlons so I would understand it. Running was my best discipline. My swimming wasn’t very good because I used the breast stroke. It’s not the fastest stroke, but it’s good for people who are timid in the water because you can see where you’re going. We sold the company when he graduated from medical school and now he’s a resident in South Carolina. VS: You recently picked up a new sport didn’t you JV: It’s interesting that at my age I’ve jumped into some new sports and become really passionate about them. I started rock climbing two years ago in Oregon. I loved it and wished I was still in my twenties. I started doing it outdoors but now I do it indoors twice a week. What I like about rock climbing and search and rescue is that they require both physical power and brain power. —Phyl Newbeck JANUARY 2015 VTSPORTS.COM 21
Page 1 and 2: READER ATHLETE • 50-PLUS WINTER E
Page 3 and 4: VERMONT SPORTS NEW ENGLAND’S OUTD
Page 5 and 6: publisher commentary by Angelo Lynn
Page 7 and 8: local shops, and promote local prod
Page 9 and 10: Diane, Emily and Bill Telensky, of
Page 11 and 12: news briefs TEXAS COMPANY, ACTIVE N
Page 13 and 14: 4 miles traverse intermittent strea
Page 15 and 16: Platelet rich plasma or PRP has bee
Page 17 and 18: gear and beer by Hilary DelRoss GEA
Page 19: news briefs VERMONT LAND TRUST PURC
Page 23 and 24: BACKCOUNTRY/TELE/AT January 24 BERK
Page 25 and 26: calendar of events 7- 8 NENSA EASTE
Page 27 and 28: SuperTour Festival Jan. 29 to Feb.

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