The most outstanding Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports volunteers in 2023 were Glen Torres, Andy Holt, Jay Schulz, and Ben Hamilton.
Named 2023 Volunteers of the Year, these four recipients embody the traits and legacy of Jim Hutchinson, a Vermont Adaptive volunteer who left a tradition of empowering people of all abilities through sports and recreation as well as a commitment toward supporting the organization.
Torres, of Waterbury, has been a Vermont Adaptive volunteer for the past 30 years and is incredibly dedicated and active in his volunteer efforts. This past winter season at Sugarbush Resort he taught 44 individual lessons, totaling up to 29.5 total days of instruction. He is not just present in the winter months — he is a committed year-round volunteer. He can always be found volunteering at many of Vermont Adaptive’s annual events such as the VT50, VT 100, Charity Challenge, and Allen Clark Hill Climb.
On top of his attendance and assistance at these major events, Torres continued to find time to volunteer for summer programming. This past summer he volunteered at every single open-enrollment paddle programming day, every single CORE Connections programming day, and many school group bike path rides. Unsurprisingly, Torres is the instructor who taught the most lessons in the winter 23/24 season at Sugarbush and the summer 2023 season in central Vermont. He has dedicated a truly incredible amount of hours to central programming in the past year in addition to his obvious commitment to Vermont Adaptive over the past 30 years.
Schulz has been a stellar, year-round volunteer since 2021. He’s willing to learn any sport to be of service to Vermont Adaptive – he even learned to ski so he could volunteer in the winter. He is a favorite among athletes and his fellow volunteers and is only a phone call away when help is needed. In addition to his time volunteering at Bolton Valley and in Burlington in the summer, Schulz also plays an active role in Sunday ski team at Sugarbush both in helping with SOVT athlete transportation as well as instructing on snow. Vermont Adaptive is very sad to be losing him this year as he is moving to Reno, Nevada, for work, but Schulz has left a lasting impression with everyone he has worked with and will always be welcome to come back and visit his Vermont Adaptive family.
Holt, of Burlington, has been a dedicated volunteer for many years. He has served as a favorite instructor to athletes and as a mentor to other volunteers. He always shows an interest in increasing his knowledge base and sharing that knowledge with others. He participates in skiing, biking, climbing, paddling and also enjoys working with the Veterans Ventures program. He’s even been known to stop by the Sailing Center to help work on the bikes when Vermont Adaptive is at a loss as to what needs to be done. Holt’s commitment to Vermont Adaptive is palpable and the organization is lucky to have him.
Ben Hamilton, of North Chittenden, has been with Vermont Adaptive for two years and in that time has stood out while helping with numerous lessons and special events. Whether on the snow, bike paths or water, his steadying presence and dedication is obvious to everyone participating and the public.
A skier by nature, Hamilton has been known to help on the occasional snowboard lesson, too, if needed. He also brings great perspective from his EMT training and work, education in the field of medicine, love of the outdoors and local knowledge of Vermont. His future plans include going to medical school so he can continue to learn and help others in his community upon graduation.
To volunteer at Vermont Adaptive, candidates must participate in off-snow and on-snow training for winter programs each year or for summer training in the spring.
For more information, visit: vermontadaptive.org/get-involved.
