Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Foundation

SSWSC inspires the pursuit of excellence, coaching every individual to achieve the highest level of human potential and athletic performance. CO taxpayers may qualify to receive a credit on their CO state income taxes equal to 25% of donations of $250 or more to SSWSC. SSWSC was named 2023 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Club of the Year, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Club of the Year, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Club of the Year, and SSWSC's Ben Brown was honored with U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Coach of the Year and Alpine Domestic Coach of the Year.

Testimonials

Les and Linda Liman

“We think of the children. The club provides the kids in our community with the opportunity to experience the outdoors, thrive, and develop critical life skills.”

A US Army Veteran, Les Liman moved to Steamboat in 1969 and got a restaurant job at the ski area that qualified as seasonal employment. Les had learned how to file tax returns while in the military and ran a little business out of his trailer to make extra money. His roommate was cleaning commercial kitchens at the ski area and asked Les to haul the trash, and while there was municipal trash service in town, there wasn’t one at the ski area. It was this roommate who introduced Les to a man who owned a trash company in Denver and became his mentor. This was the beginning of what is now known as Twin Enviro Services. Liman named his trash company after his twins Sam and Mackenzie.

Les married Linda (Strear) in 1995. Together, they live a very active lifestyle, enjoying traveling the world, biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.

Over the decades, Les expanded his business, acquired a landfill company in Summit County, and developed a disposal site in Milner. He went on to develop a disposal site in Fremont County and added waste collection in 2002 and in Trinidad in 2010. Liman has served on the board of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club in the 70s and was the club president for two years. He also served on the Chamber Board for several years and held a seat on City Council in the late 80s.

Liman shared, “The Winter Sports Club is very important to our community and provides kids an experience to enjoy the outdoors and all that it offers. It’s a credit to John Fetcher, David “Del” DelliQuadri, and so many others who worked hard for the club. It was all a part of making Steamboat Springs a wonderful place for children to grow up. It’s a great experience for the parents, too.”

“At this stage of their lives,” explains Liman, “giving back to our community has become increasingly more important to us. We are happy to support the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.” Twin Enviro Services became a SSWSC Gold Support Partner in 2021 and the Presenting Sponsor of 2023-2024 Cycling Program. - Les and Linda Liman/Twin Enviro Services

Heidi and Hans Berend

“Heidi and I feel extremely fortunate to live in the town of Steamboat Springs, where we had the opportunity to raise our children with an enviable Winter Sports experience.  This was only made possible for Ben and Sabina by the SSWSC. 

The life lessons that our children learned while participating at the club were invaluable and have led to much of their early successes and happiness.  Heidi and I both feel that it is only natural to want to share this experience with others by gifting a portion of our estate to SSWSC to strengthen the club and to spread the opportunity.

Estate giving is essential to organizations such as SSWSC, as this is one of the best ways to build assets in the SSWSC Foundation.  The Foundation is responsible for funding many of the scholarships and bridging the gap between club income and club expenses year to year.  In essence it is the financial back bone of SSWSC and is the mechanism which will ensure that the club will live on for decades to come.  

Please consider making a pledge from your estate of $50,000 or more to ensure that SSWSC is still thriving long and strong into the future.  Heidi and I feel like our gift is one of the best investments that we have made.”    Heidi and Hans Berend

FROM OUR MEMBER SURVEYS

"Our coaches make cross country skiing and training into a positive culture. The adventures and lessons learned will endure past their time as an athlete." – Member Survey Respondent

"I cannot say enough good things about these coaches and the programs they are running. The Big Mountain coaches are excellent–they see my kid as an individual and find ways to inspire and motivate him to work harder and try new things. The Backcountry Team is beyond amazing. They work to create a safe space in which young, developing minds can learn to explore the backcountry. The skills that my son has learned are immense, and beyond that, both of the coaching teams are somehow able to take a 15/16-year-old male brain and get it to step back and assess a situation before leaping into the unknown, all done with patience. A fan of both programs!" – Member Survey Respondent