From The Home Office in Durham, NC
Lake Placid World Cup Photos: Friday Bobsled | Friday Skeleton | Friday Medals | Saturday | Sunday
As the FIBT World Cup season winds up its North American swing in Lake Placid and heads into the Christmas break, I need to personally take time to thank a bunch of people who have helped SlidingOnIce.com become what you see today (at least for now) and have helped me in a whole bunch of ways. Undoubtedly I’m going to leave someone out accidently, so my apologies in advance.
To everyone at ORDA and the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex, everyone I’ve interacted with at the sliding complex has been nothing short of great to talk with. From the people shuttling us media up and down the mountain to the folks in the lodge selling me my yearly cowbell, everyone has been gone above and beyond for any request I’ve personally had.
Jon Lundin with ORDA does an amazing job dealing with us media-types. With any request anyone has, Jon has always been completely accommodating and managed to find a way to get what people need. This year, seeing some of what he has to deal with outside of handling the media has just made me appreciate his efforts even more.
Between my time doing motorsports photography and this new life with SlidingOnIce.com I’ve met many talented photographers. To this day, there’s none more talented, professional, and helpful to those still working their way up as Mike Groll and CJ Gunther. In a profession where many aren’t too keen to help, Groll and Gunther both went above and beyond when I was first starting out at Lake Placid, and continue to be something I’ll always strive to be as a photographer going forward. A lot of what I’ve done with a camera at the bobsled track are, in part, thanks to Mike and CJ.
The tri-lakes region is incredibly lucky to have someone over the airwaves like Paul Varga. Words can’t ever properly acknowledge the help Paul’s been to me as a friend (and tour guide when I’m visiting), and my trips to Lake Placid wouldn’t be nearly as fun or entertaining without him there. Whether it’s handling two morning shows at once or riding a carousel for 24 hours for a fundraiser, Paul’s selflessness is on display almost anytime you interact with him. I’m fortunate to consider him a great friend.
Amanda Bird is incredible. There’s really no other way to say it, nor would I choose any other way to say it. With literally anything I’ve ever needed with the US Bobsled & Skeleton Federation, Amanda’s been there. On top of that, she’s one of the few people up at 3:00 AM to keep me company online while the races are going on in Europe. Her hard work behind the scenes doing many, many things that your regular Marketing & Communications Director doesn’t handle might go generally unnoticed, but it’s beyond impressive to anyone who’s seen the bulk of the work she takes on. To me personally, there’s a lot that happens with this blog that wouldn’t have worked out with Amanda in my corner.
Of course all of the athletes out there, without you this website doesn’t exist. I consider myself entirely lucky to call many of you friends, and the chance to follow along as you all chase dreams in ways that so many could only be so fortunate to do is something I appreciate every day. Personally, you’ve been inspiring to me as I’ve chased a few dreams along the way, and I sincerely couldn’t have gotten to where I am physically without many of you as inspiration. Thank you to each and everyone of you who have been so great to me, your efforts are what keep me going.
Finally, those of you who are still reading at this point, and have followed along with me throughout this little journey of mine, I appreciate you all. I know it’s not always pretty, and it’s certainly not the most well-thought out websites at times, but it’s a work in progress. All I can hope is that maybe in time we make a few more fans out of people here or there. The sliding sports are some of the most entertaining in the world, and I’m so fortunate that I get to do this.
Thank you all, it’s been a great 2013, here’s looking forward to an even better 2014!
Ken
