May 25, 2015- The Bellingham Sister Cities Association wrapped up another fun and exciting Ski to Sea weekend today with some of our host families, athletes, and board members attending the Beavers Tree Service annual party, hosted by Brian and Sandra Boatman. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic long weekend of building friendships, racing, and community participation.
The BSCA Ski to Sea Committee would like to thank: Mr. Im, Mr. Kim and Mrs. Kim from Cheongju, S. Korea; Eriko Kondo and Kazuki Wada from Tateyama, Japan; Bavuugarid Batbaatar, Erdenedelger Munkhjargal, Batjargal Mishka, Tuvshintugs Chuluunbat, and Adilbish Badmaanyambuu from Tsetserleg, Mongolia; Whatcom Events and Ski to Sea for their generous support of the Sister Cities Ambassadors team; President Teresa Van Haalen and all of our board members and general members that have shown up and supported the team throughout the year and the Ski to Sea weekend; Ross and Sharon Grier, in conjunction with the Japanese Facebook Community, for hosting a welcome party for our friends from Tateyama; Mayor Kelli Linville and Sophia Blamey for so warmly welcoming our athletes and guests Friday morning at City Hall; Boundary Bay Brewery for helping to make our visitors’ experience at the Block Party even better; the Blossomtime Parade organizers for their support of the BSCA; Setsuko and Patrick Buckley and their family for hosting our athletes and parade attendees for lunch and the pre-race team meeting on Saturday; Christine Gary for getting Mr. Im up the mountain on Sunday morning and her help and support throughout the year; Gabe Starbuck, Kyle Nelson, and Max Baker for being a part of the Sister Cities Ambassadors team, their attendance at our various functions, and Gabe’s awesome abilities as captain of the team; Jack’s Bicycle Center for their generous donation of the use of two mountain bikes for our athletes to use in the race; Hammer Nutrition for their generous discount on the order for our athletes; Bay Engraving for their generosity and beautiful craftsmanship of plaques and name plates; Brian and Sandra Boatman for their assistance in finding local athletes throughout the years and for hosting us at their annual party this year; Mike and Akiko Anderson, Brad and Sandra Hubbard, Kelly Krieger, Greg Sundberg, Bolor and Eric Smith, and Karen and Tom Stuen for their wonderful hosting of our athletes and honored guests over the last week; and Ross Grier for his spearheading the Blossomtime Parade float portion of the weekend, for his hard work throughout the days, weeks, and months leading up to the Ski to Sea weekend, and for his tireless efforts on behalf of world peace.
We are looking forward to a grand celebration of the 105th anniversary of the running of the Mount Baker Marathon during the 2016 Ski to Sea race. We will be sending out information on our plans for this within the next couple of months and we would love to have you be a part of our mission of spreading world peace, one friendship (and relay race) at a time.
If you are interested in being a part of our Ski to Sea Committee, becoming a BSCA member, hosting a guest from one of our sister cities, or have any questions, please feel free to email me at secretary@bsca.org.
Melisa Nelson
BSCA Ski to Sea Coordinator
BSCA Advisory Board Secretary