Jake Burton, Founder & CEO, Burton Snowboards

Snowboarding has changed a lot in the past year, let alone in the past 35 years since Jake founded Burton Snowboards. One thing has stayed constant during all that time: Jake still leads the day-to-day workings of the world's most successful snowboard company, testing nearly every product Burton makes and taking rider feedback to heart. He is still relentless when it comes to listening to riders—whether it's feedback from the team, a customer email, or a kid who happens to sit with him in the gondola. He still walks Burton's halls almost every day, saying hi to the dogs along the way and seeing what's up with his co-workers. He still has team riders over to his house for a four-day roundtable to give the final word on the entire product line. He still scrutinizes the catalog before it goes to print and leaves product managers note cards with feedback on zippers, waterproofing, fits, flexes, colors, and feel. He still can be found at Stowe almost every day it's open (and plenty of days it's not) hiking for early and late season turns. And he still makes many of the company's biggest decisions from a chairlift, not a desk.

Donna Carpenter, President, Burton Snowboards

Donna Carpenter and her husband Jake Burton Carpenter are the sole owners of Burton Snowboards, the world's leading snowboard company. Donna and Jake also own Burton's family of boardsports brands, which includes Channel Islands Surfboards, ANON Optics, RED, The Program, Analog Clothing and Gravis Footwear.

Since 1982, Donna has held a multitude of roles at Burton, which originally operated out of her Vermont barn and now has offices in Vermont, Japan, Austria, California and Australia. During the past three decades, she has built snowboards, answered phones, expanded Burton's market to Europe and held the CFO position.

Now, Donna has taken on even more responsibilities as the President of Burton, assuming leadership of the company's international business as well as its global human resources. Donna is also heading up the non-profit Chill Foundation, which she and Jake founded back in 1995 to bring snowboarding to youth who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity. In addition, Donna continues to oversee all efforts to ensure that Burton is an employer and brand of choice for women. Through Donna's leadership, Burton established new women's marketing, product and creative initiatives to drive the women's business and created internal programs that focus on retaining and promoting women.

On top of all this, Donna snowboards and spends time with her three sons and Jake as much as possible.

Charles Minot "Minnie" Dole (April 18, 1899–March 14, 1976)

Dole originally from Massachusetts, learned to ski with the Boy Scouts. Dole broke his ankle in 1936 while skiing in the rain on Stowe's Toll Road; his friends found a piece of corrugated tin, large enough for his leg, so he could push himself down the mountain. Two months after Dole's accident, Frank Edson was killed in a ski accident. On March 7, 1938, Dole met National Ski Association president Roger Langley again in Stowe where Dole had come to help the Mount Mansfield Ski Club patrollers prepare for the National Races. Langley and Dole discussed a national ski patrol association, and Dole agreed to chair the National Ski Patrol Committee of the National Ski Association. Dole founded the Patrol on knowledge and incentive – pressing people to keep up with first aid and rescue work. After getting the NSP running, Dole proposed the 10th Mountain Division, an elite Army division trained in mountain warfare and survival that fought in World War II. Dole continued as head of the National Ski Patrol System until 1950 at which point there were 4,000 members serving 300 ski patrols. In 1941-42, he reported 89 local patrols and 1500 registered patrolmen. Today, the organization is made up of more than 27,000 members serving over 600 patrols, including alpine, Nordic, and auxiliary patrollers. NSP still adheres to the creed of "Service and Safety" established by Dole and his advisors and is still dedicated to serving the public and outdoor recreation industry by providing education and accreditation to emergency care and safety service providers.

Click here to hear from Mint Dole, Minnie's son.

D. Trowbridge Elliman

"Trow" Ellimanwas the pioneer publisherof The Stowe Reporter from 1963 to 1998, and was responsible for developing the newspaper's look and size into that of an award winning weekly tabloid.

He was also one of the founding fathers and the first secretary of the Vermont Alpine Racing Association, (VARA), in 1971. That same year, he wrote the VARA vision statement: To keep ski racing 1st in Vermont and Vermont ski racers 1st in the world. (It is still in use today.)

From the onset, VARA took-over, reorganized, and administered all levels of ski racing in Vermont. At the same time, VARA began the process of asserting Vermont's independence from the Eastern Ski Association and in establishing Vermont's own financial autonomy.

These goals were strongly supported by Elliman's articles and editorials in The StoweReporter, as the paper continued to chronicle and explain these changes.

The paper also championed the extraordinary growth of alpine racing in Vermont: To wit; In 1962 Vermont had but two alpine ski racers at the national level.By 1976,Vermont had a predominance of alpine ski racers at every level of competition --- More Olympic medalists, more Can-Am winners, more Junior Championships and a whopping 51 percent of the U.S. National Team. These statistics were proudly stated by VARA in a special 20 page supplement, written and published by The Stowe Reporter. The paper, then dubbed the 'official' newspaper of VARA, became MUST reading for alpine aficionados across the country and became widely quoted in other ski publications.

In the 1960s, Elliman, along with others, helped administer and promote the Mount Mansfield Ski Club's Junior and Hopefuls racing programs, as a fun and healthy outdoor sport. He also served as a director of the Eastern Ski Association and the Eastern Ski Writers.

In 1962, Elliman became an instructor in the predominantly Austrian staffed, Sepp Ruschp Ski School: (Pictured in 1965 in his ski school parka).

In looking back 14 years after retiring, Elliman said he was particularly pleased to note that both The Stowe Reporter and VARA, the two institutions he helped nurture during their formative years, continue to flourish and serve the skiing community today. "Luckily," he says, "I was at the right place at the right time."

In November 2011, Elliman was also inducted into the Vermont Alpine Racing Association Hall of Fame in Quechee, VT.

Click here to hear Trow Elliman.

Leslie Thompson Hall

Leslie Thompson Hall competed from 1988-1995 on the international level after a successful racing career beginning in Stowe and continuing at Dartmouth where she was a 3 time All American. She participated in 3 Olympic Games (1988, 1992, 1994) and in the 1993 and 1995 FIS World Ski Championships. Her banner years were 1988, 1993, and 1995 – she received the Finlandia award for outstanding cross country skier, the Erik Judeen Award for highest scoring woman in the US Cross Country Championships, and the Martha Rockwell Award for fastest woman in 5km at the US Cross Country Championships (1988 and 1995). In 1988, she received the Buddy Werner, given to a USSA competitor who demonstrated leadership and good sportsmanship in national or international competition. Today she coaches cross country skiing in Washington State.

Click here to hear Leslie Thompson Hall.

Gale "Tiger" H. Shaw, III

Gale H. Shaw, III, known as Tiger, skied competitively for the Mount Mansfield Ski Club, Stratton Mountain School, and Dartmouth College before joining the World Cup circuit in 1983. During his international career, he had eight top tens, seven in slalom, one in combined, and competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. In 1983, Shaw beat both Steve and Phil Mahyre in the GS before they retired in 1984. Shaw won the Buddy Werner Award for leadership and good sportsmanship in national or international competition in 1986 and 1991. Shaw continues his involvement in skiing as a board member of the USSA, a coach in the Ford Sayre program, and currently as Operations Director of Global Rescue.

Click here to hear Tiger Shaw.