Ulture Owning 2 - oda ; Mountain oe jibe 4 Lina Gasser on Shames Mountain Kurt Gasser Sarah Jackson Culture Editor re you looking to own a mountain? Well, My Mountain Co-op, based out of Terrace, offers you the chance to do just that. "With everything that's happening in the world, it's a nice ray of sunshine,” explains third year International Studies student, Lina Gasser, as she describes her home- mountain's recent change in ownership, from being run by a corporation to being owned and managed by the local community. The owner/operator cooperative was created in early 2011, by the non-profit society, Friends of Shames. Friends of Shames was initially formed to keep Shames Mountain open after it was listed for sale by the former owner, the Shames Mountain Ski Corporation. Research done by Friends of Shames led to the creation of the My Mountain Co-op, which has been operating the mountain ever since. The process was, and continues to be, facilitated by contributions and investments from community members, businesses, and various levels of government. It's a real show of civil society,” says Lina, who, along with the rest of her family, is a shareholder in the co-op. According to the My Mountain Co-op website, the grassroots organisation is Canada's first non-profit, ski community cooperative. The unique organisation has an equally unique story behind its creation. The Northern Development Initiative Trust states on their website that initial research into the feasibility of the organization was undertaken through partnerships between Friends of Shames, Northern Development, Terrace Economic Development Authority, and the Co-operative development initiative in 2010. The research eventually concluded that the idea of forming a cooperative to keep the mountain open could be effective. According to articles in the Terrace Standard in the spring of 2011, the co-op struck a lease deal with the Shames Mountain Ski Corporation to take on all the unpaid royalties of the ski hill Then in 2012, the overall sales deal was completed, when the provincial government agreed to forgive the interest portion of the royalty debt. lina, who grew up skiing on Shames Mountain, says that the project has really brought the community of Terrace together. Like many small northern towns, Terrace has experienced economic challenges in recent years, so this is an amazing demonstration of what communities can do when working towards a common goal. According to the My Mountain Co- op website, the organisation aims to maintain their “locally rooted but global in reach” guiding principles; affordability for users, long-term economic viability, and "benefits for skiers and the community.” "We care about this. We want this to happen,’ explains Lina, "This summer they painted the outside of the lodge. A community sponsor donated the paint, and the community painted it.” As people and communities around the world continue to experience economic and social challenges, the success of this community-based organisation stands out as an example of how to achieve goals that benefit everyone through collaboration with all sectors of society. Youth On Board Kallie Smith Contributor Yo looking to make a difference in their community and build their resume should check out the series of events being hosted this fall by Board Voice and local community social service agencies. These events will enable local social service agencies to hear from youth about their ideas for contributing to agency work. The next event in this series, “Board of Directors: What are their roles and responsibilities?” will be hosted on October Ist at the AiMHi Gymnasium. As a local youth, | am particularly excited that this event is being held in Prince George. | was recently involved with a Board of Directors made up entirely of youth, and it was a phenomenal learning experience for me. In my opinion, getting involved with a Board of Directors did more for my professional and personal development than my four years of undergraduate education. Unfortunately, youth are often not provided with roles on Boards of Directors. Perhaps this is because youth are not seen as effective decision- makers, or perhaps it is because youth are seen as not having the necessary experience to contribute meaningfully to an agency. Whatever the reason, | argue that when youth are excluded from involvement on the Boards of Directors, both the development of the agency and the development of youth are negatively impacted. Agencies benefit in a variety of ways when youth are included on their Boards of Directors. Agencies benefit because they now have a more diverse set of perspectives being represented in conversations and decisions. Also, youth that get involved on Boards of Directors tend to become lifelong community participants; these youth find themselves getting involved with other Boards of Directors, experiencing a sense of ownership over community development efforts, and encouraging others to get involved. Not only are the youth that get involved on Boards of Directors more likely to continue their involvement, they are also more well-equipped to do so as they have acquired skills and knowledge throughout their involvement. Finally, youth that get involved on agencies Boards of Directors become advocates for those agencies and might help the agency reach different audiences in society. Youth benefit from being involved as well. Participating on a Board of Directors helps youth develop skills that will make them more responsible and self-sufficient members of society. Having Board involvement on their resume also might help youth win scholarships, get admitted into college or university, or get a job. It also helps youth to develop their professional network, and develop a sense of eHficacy and social responsibility that will hopefully motivate them fo continue their community involvement. | know that my experience on a Board of Directors was life-changing, and | hope that these events encourage and prepare other youth to get involved. | also hope that this event inspires local agencies to be more inclusive of youth on their Boards of Directors because youth cannot get involved if Boards will not let them! For more information about this innovative professional development event contact Project Facilitator, Tamara Sweet - TamaraSweete@alumni. unbc.ca or Dawn Hemingway, Board Voice Provincial Director and UNBC School of Social Work Chair - Dawn. Hemingway@unbc.ca or 250-960- 5694. The next Youth on Board event is entitled ‘Voice of Youth: What we can and are Contributing.” It takes place at AiMHi (950 Kerry Street) on 15 October, and all are welcome to attend. ~*yBoardVoice Leadership. Collaboration. Community.