Congratulations to the Class of 2025!
The Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame honors the significant contributions of legendary local athletes and visionaries. The honorees have achieved in their sport or industry and have also given back to the Wood River Valley community. Inductees to the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame are selected and honored every two years at The Community Library, spearheaded by the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History.
Announcing the 2025 Inductees: George Gund III, Janet Kellam, Edward “Scotty” Scott, and Juli Jones Webb.
2025 Induction Ceremony
5:30 p.m. Thursday, December 11, 2025
John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall
7:00 p.m. Reception at The Library’s Wood River Museum of History and Culture
Watch the replay here of the 2025 SV Winter Sports Hall of Fame.
Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
View/download a list of all honorees here.
Class of 2025
George Gund III
Ice Hockey
George Gund III was instrumental in boosting the ice hockey program here in the Wood River Valley, starting with supporting the initiative to build an indoor rink next to Sun Valley’s legendary outdoor rink. With Herman Maricich, and in cooperation with Bill Janss, the indoor skating rink was built in 1974. Skaters in the Valley needed an indoor rink. The figure skating program was strong, but there wasn’t yet a hockey team. Ice hockey was what George was in love with. The story goes that George, Doc Burgett, Hermie Haavik, John Heinrich, Charlie Holt, David Knott, Alex Orb, Nick Orr, Jeff Nee, Kim Salmela, and John Weekes, started playing there. Soon after, the Sun Valley Suns team was born. He was a great ambassador for ice hockey.
The Suns’ team started in 1975 and George was one of the original players and was a benefactor for the team for twenty years. He also was the benefactor for the women’s team, the Sunsets, which started in 1981. George supported the blossoming of the sport here by creating a team and bringing in good players and coaches and advancing the competition in the region. George volunteered as a coach in the youth ice hockey program. The youth hockey program trained many, many players who went on to play with the Suns, Sunsets, and elsewhere. George’s love of the sport was infectious.
Janet Kellam
Alpine and Nordic Skiing
Janet Kellam hailed from Schenectady New York and, in her youth, spent every moment possible skiing in the Adirondacks and Vermont with her family and with Niskayuna High School. While in college, Kellam worked summer jobs in the White Clouds and Sawtooth Mountains. This experience firmly planted a seed which developed into a lifelong love of Central Idaho. After Alpine and Nordic racing for nationally ranked Middlebury College and competing in the Lake Placid pre-Olympics, Janet eagerly shifted to “three-pin” backcountry skiing and mountaineering.
Janet pioneered women’s roles in outdoor business, recreation, and adventure. She was a passionate Nordic coach, competitor, backcountry guide and outfitter, heli-ski guide, avalanche forecaster, instructor and director of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, and a key leader in the Stanley-based Sawtooth Ski Club.
Janet’s dedication and ability to engage the community played an important part in the revival of Galena Lodge and the development of the fledgling Sawtooth Avalanche Center. Now both are nationally and internationally recognized in the winter sports and avalanche world. In 2023, Janet received the American Avalanche Association’s prestigious Bernie Kingery Award honoring a lifetime of achievement and contributions as an avalanche professional.
Conscious of the backcountry leaders before her, Kellam has shared her vision of helping people get into the mountains to experience the magic of winter and the joy of skiing. Her deep love of winter, snow, and skiing has always been contagious for anyone she encounters.
Edward “Scotty” Scott
Industry
Edward “Scotty” Scott established the Scott USA company in Ketchum in 1959. His aluminum ski pole was wildly popular with racers as soon as he debuted it in Squaw Valley Olympics in 1960. Scotty is the inventor of the modern ski pole. His career in Sun Valley spanned from 1947 to his death in 2001. He began as a busboy in the Sun Valley Employees Cafeteria and became a successful entrepreneur and founder of internationally famous sports equipment manufacturer, Scott USA. His first winter was spent with Warren Miller in his trailer in the Sun Valley parking lot.
Scott’s impetus for starting his own repair shop arose from a matter of honor and principle in a dispute with Pete Lane, when he worked for him as a ski-tech. He started Scotty’s Ski Haus in the building that now houses Ketchum’s Smoky Mountain Pizza. It was there that he developed the revolutionary aluminum Scott ski pole, a tapered, lightweight, virtually indestructible pole, with distinctive molded hand grips and strap, and a much smaller basket for maneuverability. He started a factory for the poles due to the international demand and developed other innovative ski products ranging from articulated gloves to safer, lighter, non-lacing, plastic ski boots. Scott USA brought international acclaim to Sun Valley for its cutting-edge products which have been used by many of the world’s best skiers since 1959. Scotty was also notorious for his civic participation and activism, being passionate about Ketchum as a unique and magical mountain ski town.
Juli Jones Webb
Alpine Skiing
Juli Jones Webb celebrated her sixtieth year as a ski instructor for the Sun Valley Ski School last winter. She has been a fixture there sharing her passion for outdoor winter adventure with so many, many students. Webb has been a trailblazer, breaking barriers and rewriting the rules on how women participate in the sport of skiing at Sun Valley. After learning the fundamentals of skiing from her father, Webb took her next step and competed in an Alpine ski race, a PNSA novice race, eventually qualifying for junior nationals. Webb made family trips to Sun Valley, and they would help pack the snow with the ski patrol long before grooming runs became commonplace on Baldy and Dollar.
In her mind, Sun Valley was the “end all” skiing experience with family, dry snow, and blue skies. Webb went on to join the Sun Valley Ski School as an instructor under legendary Director Sigi Engl. Webb’s two brothers followed her to become ski patrollers, and her sister joined the ski school. Webb has served under seven ski school directors—some of the people who not only made Sun Valley the skiing paradise it is today, but also revolutionized the sport of Alpine skiing. When she started, Webb was one of just five female ski instructors for the school.
Another first, Webb broke the gender barrier by being the first woman to ski in the torchlight run down Dollar Mountain. At the time, women were not permitted to participate, as the school—and the sport of skiing—had been traditionally dominated by men. Seemingly, a small incident like sneaking herself into the torchlight parade passing for a man ended up changing the gender dynamics of the ski school. Eventually as Webb corralled more women instructors to participate in the parade, it normalized their participation.
Webb also began giving private lessons, which at the time was also taboo for women. Webb went on to fight for equal pay for women instructors. Webb was appointed to start the Ambassador’s program under Sigi Engl. This eventually became Sun Valley Guest Services. Webb was inducted into the Northwest Ski Museum Hall of Fame. Webb said her passion for instruction, her love of skiing, and some great people that she was surrounded by truly fueled her illustrious career.
Class of 2023
Watch the replay of the 2023 Induction Ceremony here.
Judy Blumberg
Figure Skating
Judy Blumberg is a five-time National Dance Champion for ice skating, two-time Olympic Team Member Ice Dancer, US Figure Skating Hall of Famer, and coach for many figure skaters since 1990. Blumberg has been instrumental in the careers of many figure skaters who have passed through the Wood River Valley and the Sun Valley Ice Center.
John “Cub” Burke
Ice Hockey
Player, coach, general manager, and president are just a few of the titles held by John “Cub” Burke. An Original Sun Valley Suns team member from the 1970s, he coached, and brought in talented players to the Wood River Valley over the Suns’ 50-year history. Burke went on to coach, inspire, and mentor youth programs and is a founder of Sun Valley Youth Hockey. He also co-created the Sun Valley Senior Hockey League in the late 1970s.
Heather Flood Daves
Alpine Skiing
Heather Flood Daves was one of the highest-ranking skiers in the nation after she won the slalom at the NCAA championships in 1991. Following this recognition, Daves had a successful career on the U.S. Pro Ski Tour, standing on the podium many times in the US Nationals and Nor-Ams. Since, Flood Daves has spent years working, inspiring, and coaching generations of future skiers, both in her roles with Sun Valley Company and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. She is a Level 100 Coach for US Ski and Snowboard. Key to the growth and strength of the Sun Valley Youth Hockey program, Daves elevated it into Junior Hockey, Division 1 Hockey, and Division 3 Hockey, for both girls and boys.
Marc Mast
Adaptive Skiing, Nordic and Alpine
A long-time instructor and non-profit creator and operator, Mast has spent over 40 years helping adaptive athletes find joy in skiing. He started the adaptive skiing program in the Sun Valley Ski School and from 1993 to 2003, Mast was the Coordinator for Adaptive Skiing. Mast helped to develop adaptive Nordic skiing. Of the thousands of athletes he has worked with, many have gone on to compete at national and international levels. U.S. Paralympic coach for the Nordic Team, Mast also started Sun Valley Adaptive Sports to help fund training opportunities for para-athletes.
Jonna Mendes
Alpine Skiing
A Santa Cruz coastal California native, Jonna Mendes was named to the US. Ski Team in 1996 at age sixteen. Her best events were Downhill and Super-G, but she also found success in Giant Slalom. She competed in the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and again in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Overall, she raced nine seasons on the World Cup circuit with 130 starts in four World Cup competitions. She competed in four World Alpine Championships. At the 2003 Alpine World Championship, Mendes won a bronze medal in the Super-G and 5th place in Downhill.
Jonna podiumed thirteen times in various U.S. National Championships, earning for national titles, two in Downhill and two in Giant Slalom. Her first National Championship podium was in the Giant Slalom as a 16-year-old.
Mendes is also a gifted coach and mentor for many aspiring athletes. In 2011, she was named the inaugural Director of the Sun Valley Ski Academy (SVSA) at Sun Valley Community School. In this role and in partnership with Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, Mendes has helped over 460 student athletes from all around the world achieve beyond their dreams. Many have progressed to collegiate ski teams and ten SVSA student athletes have been named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard and U.S. Paralympic Teams. Mendes helped to created a foundation of excellence within SVSA that has enabled it to rank among the premier ski racing academies in the western region, as well as achieving national recognition. She elevated Sun Valley as a nurturing, inspiring environment for young skiers to grow.
Class of 2021
Watch the replay of the 2021 Induction Ceremony here.
Lisa-Marie Allen, Olympic figure skater, choreographer, and coach.
K2 Demonstration Team, Pat Bauman, Bob Griswold, Charlie McWilliams, and Jim Stelling were the daring performers.
Lane Monroe, Skier, U.S. Ski Team coach, former Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Program Director and Head Alpine Coach.
John Weekes, Sun Valley Suns ice hockey architect, coach-manager, and player.
The SVWSHoF Class of 2021 induction ceremony was held on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. Watch the recorded ceremony.
Class of 2019
Watch the replay of the 2019 Induction Ceremony here.
Graham Anderson, a significant contributor to the ski industry for seventy years, is also an inductee in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1984. He was a ski patroller and a long-time board member of the SVSEF.
Dick Dorworth is a down-hill world-record holder in the Diamond Sun race, coach, mountaineer, award-winning journalist, and author of four books. Also, he is an inductee in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, class of 2011.
Sonya Dunfield, a world champion figure skater, is also an inductee in both the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. She was an elite coach in the Sun Valley figure skating training center for many years. She was awarded the Professional Skaters Association’s Shulman Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1982.
W. Averell Harriman, as Board Chairman of Union Pacific Railroad, created the Sun Valley Resort in 1936. He was responsible for the first chair lift on Dollar Mountain. Sun Valley ski racing earned its world-class reputation with a 1937 cup race named after him–the Harriman Cup. Harriman is also an inductee in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1969.
Bob Jonas, a pioneer in the backcountry ski industry, established five backcountry yurts in the eighties and nineties. Also, in 1998, he co-founded the Wood River Nordic and Backcountry Skiers Alliance of Idaho. So successful this alliance was, it helped to initiate the “Winter Snow Pact,” a valued skier/snowmobiler collaboration that went to win a “Spirit of Idaho” award.
Doran Key, an accomplished athlete, was a beloved coach for Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. Unstoppable, she coached over thirty years, and was deeply involved in the Kindercup competitions as the Head “D” Team Coach. Acknowledged for her years of coaching excellence, she was awarded the SVSEF Jack Simpson Dedicated Coaches Award in 2009.
Herman Maricich, head of the Sun Valley Skating School for many years, started the indoor ice rink in 1975. Using the new rink he launched the “Sun Valley on Ice” shows. And also, Maricich was instrumental in making Sun Valley a year round ice skating facility. This made it a destination for world-class ice skaters and consequently a much loved training center.
Jim Savaria, one of the co-founders of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, has been a beloved coach for many years. He coached Olympians as well as taught kids at Rotarun when the rope-tow was first installed in the 50s. Savaria worked as a ski patrol and helped to develop safety protocols.
The SVWSHoF Class of 2019 Induction Ceremony was held online via Zoom, December 8, 2020.
Class of 2014
Sigi Engl
Alpine Skiing
Born in 1911 in Kitzbuhel, Austria, Siegfried “Sigi” Engl’s talent for teaching skiing was recognized early on when he became a local ski instructor at age Known for his unique maneuvers, he won the 1931
Italian downhill along with multiple other races. Engl made his way to America in 1937 and in 1939, he made his way to Sun Valley where he would meet his wife, Peggy.
Engl joined the Sun Valley Ski School as an instructor, where he won the 1941 Harriman Cup and became one of only six to win the prestigious Diamond Sun award for a race held on Bald Mountain. His early years in Idaho foreshadowed the significant talent that would make him a key figure in Sun Valley’s history. Following a brief departure during World War II, Engl became the Director of the Sun Valley Ski School in 1952 and with the help of Sepp Froehlich, revolutionized the school, making it one of the top ski schools in the world.
Under his leadership, the number of Sun Valley ski instructors quadrupled from 50 to 200, and
videotape replay was introduced to aid instruction. Engl was known for his strict discipline and
commitment to the sport, but his leadership fostered a warm connection between instructors and students. Engl implemented children’s skiing programs when the culture of skiing changed from being primarily enjoyed by celebrities, to becoming more accessible to entire families. In 1982, Sun Valley named Sigi’s Bowl on Bald Mountain after him, a powerful tribute to his significant contributions to the sport of skiing at Sun Valley Lodge.
Muffy Davis
Adaptive Alpine Skiing
Muffy Davis was paralyzed from the chest down from an accident during training. She was a 16-year-old champion ski racer when this happened.
Marc Mast, a trainer who taught Davis how to ski again, spoke at the induction ceremony. He asked members of the audience to close their eyes and imagine they were sitting on a beach ball with a ski underneath it.
“Then, imagine you’re skiing the same downhill course that the Olympic racers skied at 70 miles per hour,” Mast said. “That’s what it was like for Muffy racing in the Paralympics. As a result, she earned a fistful of medals.”
“(Ski Coach) Mike Brown said he had never seen anyone who could follow a line like Muffy. That goes to her intelligence and what the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation taught her,” he added. (Excerpted from Eye on Sun Valley, February 14, 2015.)
Jack Simpson
Alpine Skiing
The pioneer of the junior ski program, Jack Simpson taught generations of skiers in the Wood River Valley. After moving to Sun Valley in 1939 with his family, Simpson was soon a member of the ski school where he assisted in teaching skiers of all ages, along with helping to run the Sawtooth Club, the family business. During his years of teaching and racing, Simpson would also be called upon to serve as a body double for Sonja Henie in the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade due to his similar size.
Simpson was known for loving all kinds of skiing, from downhill to back country and many called him the “prototype Sun Valley-ite.” Simpson helped to install the rope tow on Penny Mountain for junior skiers and drove them to competitions in his own van. In 1966, Simpson joined together with other skiers to create the youth ski team which would develop into the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) a few years later. During his time with the organization, Simpson would help train National and Olympic level athletes.
The SVSEF announced the creation of the Jack Simpson Dedicated Coaches Award in June of 2000, The award is designed to acknowledge the efforts of coaches who make outstanding contributions at the
club level and has since been given to deserving coaches which would be first presented in 2001.
Following his years of contributions to skiers and to the Wood River Valley as a resident and business owner, Simpson passed away in July of 2000, however his legacy continues in the traditions and dreams of those who knew him.
Class of 2013
Bob Disbrow and Kim Kawaguchi, Jon Engen, Don and Gretchen Fraser, Jimmy Griffith,
Teresa Heinz Family, Earl and Carol Holding, Maria Maricich, and Alison Owen
Class of 2012
Rick Kapala, Muffy Ritz, Jack Reddish, Bob Rosso, Bob Smith, and Picabo Street
Class of 2011
Jenny Busdon, Dick Durrance, Charley French, Jannette Burr Johnson, Warren Miller,
Hans Muehlegger, Pete Patterson, Michel Rudigoz, Ntala Skinner, Annie and Bill Vanderbilt
Class of 2010
Nelson Bennett, Bobbie Burns, Christin Cooper, Chuck Ferries, Bill Janss,
Rob Kiesel, Leif Odmark, Phil Puchner, Kevin Swigert
