James (Jimmie) Spencer, O.B.C.

Before becoming one of Canada’s foremost ski industry leaders, James (Jimmie) Spencer had a professional career as an officer in the British Army for 33 years.

Spencer served in Italy, Austria, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He achieved a number of elite appointments as an officer cadet, including the top honour of Senior Under Officer; he was an instructor at Mons Officer Cadet School, Company Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Commanding Officer of 2nd Regiment, Royal Artillery, staff officer of the first British Corps in Germany and selected to be College Commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; before retiring he was Deputy Commander of an Artillery Brigade and had achieved the rank of Colonel.

It was the occupation of Austria when Sir Winston Churchill ordered troops to be trained in winter warfare that eventually led to Spencer’s interest in competitive skiing. He was selected to compete internationally for Great Britain in 1949 and was captain of the British Nordic team in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Winter Games. He competed in winter pentathlon and was British National Champion in 1952 and 1953.

Since 1979, Spencer has been the Executive Director and President and CEO of the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA) where he has played a major role in the development of skiing in Canada as both a sport and an industry. His work has contributed significantly to British Columbia’s $10 billion tourism industry and it’s been said the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver benefited significantly from his contribution to the industry over the years.

For three decades he played a critical role in supporting a post-secondary ski resort operations and management program and helped develop the HeliCat Canada group of heli-skiing and cat-skiing operators.

As a leader in the Alpine ski industry Spencer has worked with governments to access Crown land acquired under B.C.’s Commercial Alpine Ski Policy and in developing country-wide safety standards for ski area/resort operators.

For his contributions Spencer was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2007 for his work in building the province’s ski industry. In doing so he has supported a collaborative approach for those in the business and helped to develop the ski operations into a world-class sustainable industry. Today CWSAA has grown to include more than 100 member ski areas stretching from British Columbia and the Yukon through to Manitoba and 180 worldwide Associate Members.

Spencer’s entrepreneurial spirit has nurtured recreational and competitive skiing and snow sports organizations for more than three decades.  As a result of this he received the prestigious Jim Marshall Award in 1991 and in 2004 he was given the Judith Kilbourne Award for his commitment to the Canadian Ski Council where he was a director and chairman. In 2006 he was awarded the inaugural ski industry leadership award which is now named for him. That same year he was also given the Canada West Ski Areas Association Lifetime Achievement award.

In 1994 for his commitment to international ski tourism he was given the Austrian Tiroler Adler (Eagle) from the Governor of Tirol. In 2009, Spencer was named to the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.