May 13, 2006 – Financier Peter Kellogg of Short Hills, N.J., a longtime board member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and a driving force in its drive to create a legacy endowment, was named Friday night as winner of the Julius Blegen Award, USSA’s highest honor for volunteer service to the 101-year-old federation.

In addition, the Beck International Award – USSA’s highest athlete honor – was given to Olympic champion Ted Ligety (Park City, UT). The Westhaven Award, given annually to recognize the work of an “outstanding” technical delegate (who overseas a competition), was presented to Bob Dart, longtime alpine race organizer and competition official from Winter Park Resort in Colorado.

Bud Keene, whose freestyle snowboarders earned six Olympic medals – including three golds – in Italy in February, was honored as Coach of the Year with Glenn Eddy, freestyle program manager and head coach at Maine’s Carrabassett Valley Academy, selected as Domestic Coach of the Year. The USSA Club of the Year, spotlighting a club, which is “providing direction to young athletes through high-level competition programs” leading to elite success, is Waterville Valley (NH).

The USSA Congress 2006 has attracted more than 200 delegates with committee and subcommittee meetings through Sunday.

Kellogg was cited for his ongoing generosity and his “exemplary leadership” in motivating others to contributing to USSA and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Foundation.

Ligety, 21, captured the Olympic gold medal in alpine combined – the first won by an American – as he produced the fastest slalom runs. After the Games, he collected his first World Cup victory, winning a giant slalom in YongPyong, South Korea. He finished his season with two more gold medals at the TD Banknorth U.S. Alpine Championships, defending his titles for slalom and combined.

Keene, who retired as U.S. halfpipe head coach as the season ended, directed the halfpipe riders for the past four years. U.S. riders won gold and silver medals in both the Olympic men’s and women’s contests – and also were fourth in each event. Eddy was cited not only for his work at CVA but for being a Junior World Championships coach, chairman of the USSA Coaches Subcommittee, and longtime involvement in freestyle officiating.

The Westhaven Award, honoring outstanding service as a technical delegate, was given to Bob Dart, head of the Winter Park (CO) Competition Center for 20-plus years, current chair of the USSA Alpine Committee and NorAm Cup Committee, an alpine TD for more than two decades and president of the Rocky Mountain Division board for 12 years. He was the TD at the 2005 World Alpine Ski Championships in Bormio, Italy.

Cross Country Receipients – International: Vidar Loefshus, U.S. sprint coach; Domestic: Chris Grover, Olympic development coach for the Sun Valley (ID) Ski Education Foundation;