Tag: Pierre Trudeau

Remembering Jack BrightRemembering Jack Bright

May 11, 2013 Whistler Museum 4 Comments

There are many prominent figures from our valley’s history whose names recur often on this blog and elsewhere: Myrtle & Alex Philip, Franz Wilhelmsen, Stefan Ples, Eldon Beck, Hugh Smythe, Florence Petersen, Nancy Greene & Al Raine, just to name a few. But one name which has not received its due is Jack Bright.

Jack Bright was the first General Manager of Whistler Mountain, and was a pivotal figure in the nascent ski resort’s quick ascent as Canada’s premier ski resort. Sadly, we received word that Jack Bright passed away last week in Vancouver.

bright headshot_ACCESS WMA_P89_0186_WMSC

Franz Wilhelmsen hired Jack to run Whistler Mountain at the ripe old age of 28, a decision that turned out to be a resounding success. Considering Jack’s previous work experience was 5 years managing the tiny (and now-defunct) Pigeon Mountain ski area near Canmore, Alberta, Jack must have given a pretty good interview!

In any case, Jack turned out to be a marketing and management savant. Recognizing the power of celebrity and the draw of larger-than-life personalities, he managed to snag skiing superstar “Diamond” Jim McConkey to run the resort’s ski school, rental & retail operations.

The classic image of Jack Bright (right) skiing Whistler with "Diamond Jim" McConkey. Photo taken ca. before toques were invented (1972, actually). — The classic image of Jack Bright (left) skiing Whistler with “Diamond Jim” McConkey. Photo taken ca. before toques were invented (1972, actually).

A few years later in March 1971, at the height of “Trudeaumania” then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his bride Margaret honeymooned at Whistler. Clearly, such esteemed guests required “above-and-beyond” service, so Jack and Jim McConkey served as the newly-weds personal ski instructors during their stay. Trudeau, a strong skier, returned to Whistler often, and Jack or Jim were always prepared to accompany him.

Jack Bright (right) showing the Prime Minister how it's done. — Jack Bright (right) showing the Prime Minister how it’s done.

The publicity from such high-profile associations is hard to overstate, and foreshadows the prolific use of celebrity and athlete “ambassadors” that is common practice throughout the ski industry today. For more recent local examples, think Dave Murray ski camps, Mike Douglas “Embedded,” and local Olympic champions Ashleigh McIvor & Maelle Ricker, to name just a few.

Jack was also instrumental in arranging countless ski races, spring skiing parties, and other events to attract skiers and raise the resort’s profile, another example of his forward-thinking marketing mind. During his tenure, Jack oversaw Whistler Mountain’s quick ascent to the biggest and most renowned ski resort in the province.

One look at the Creekside Gondola line-up from the early 1970s is testament to Jack’s success at growing the resort. It was also Jack’s decision to institute a boarding-pass system, lift tickets that included a pre-scheduled up-load time, to take some of the sting off what could easily be a two or three-hour wait for the lifts.

More than just a promotions guru, Jack also built and managed the Whistler Inn, one of the valley’s first hotels, was the inaugural president of the Canada West Ski Areas Association, he helped found the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, the Canada Day Parade and was the chair of Whistler’s first bank, the North Shore Credit Union.

He stopped working for Whistler Mountain in the mid-1970s, but stayed in town for some time, continuing to manage his hotel and various other community interests. He eventually moved to Vancouver where he remained an active and respected businessman, though he remained connected to the Whistler community and came back to ski and visit frequently.

Franz Wilhelmsen, an unidentified man, and Jack Bright (from l to r), overlooking their kingdom, early 1980s.

Ghosts of Olympic Bids Past.Ghosts of Olympic Bids Past.

February 9, 2013 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

1 year from today the seaside resort of Sochi Village will be a rocking celebration of winter sport on a scale the world has not seen since, well, n3 years ago, right here. Since we’re feeling the Olympic spirit we feel it’s apt to look back into Whistler’s Olympic past.

The initial bid for the 1968 Olympics that started this whole thing called Whistler is fairly well known, but fewer are aware that a total of 5 unsuccessful bids for the Olympics had already been made before the IOC finally announced on July 2nd 2003 that the joint Vancouver-Whistler 2010 bid had been chosen. All of these prior bids, despite their failure, played an integral role in the continued development of Whistler until it was finally ready to host the 2010 Games.

The 1976 was an especially strong bid, receiving endorsement from the Canadian Olympic Committee as our official national bid. By 1970, when the bid was being put forth, Whistler Mountain had become an established, high profile ski resort, and Vancouver was an increasingly cosmopolitan city with growing international appeal. One of the most important boosters of the West Coast, and Whistler in particular, was none other than then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau–a frequent visitor to Whistler who even took his honeymoon here with Margaret Sinclair in 1971.

ACCESS WMA_P89_0270_WMSC — Pierre Trudeau and Franz Wilhelmsen meet to discuss Olympic bids on Whistler Mountain, 1969.

Although the 1976 games ended up in Innsbruck, Austria, the fact that a full IOC bid was made has left behind a lot of official material that gives insight into the Canadian Olympic organizers and their vision of Whistler as a future Olympic venue. The official 1976 Vancouver/Garibaldi bid book, printed in 1970 and on display in the Olympic section of our permanent exhibit is a perfect example of this.

The Bid Book' which has a beautiful cloth-bound hardcover, and is about the size of a vinyl LP cover. — The Bid Book, which has a beautiful cloth-bound hardcover and is about the size of a vinyl LP cover.

The book is a very polished looking production, meant to showcase the bid and everything the Vancouver-Garibaldi region had to offer. A prominent selling point for this bid was the compact, single host area. All of the events would be held in what is today Whistler, they even advertised that all facilities would be within a 2.5 mile radius of where the village is today.

Probably the coolest element from the bid book are the architectural drawings, which offers an alternate-universe version of Whistler Village from the one designed by Eldon Beck and constructed nearly a decade later. Notably, although there was still very little there at the time, and there were no plans to develop Blackcomb yet, the village was still located more or less where it is today.

The architecture is very grand, especially with all the elements considered as a whole. The buildings are angular, almost modular looking (the athlete’s village, not shown here, resembles very closely the Whiskey Jack neighbourhood in Nordic/Highlands).

Overall, this Olympic Village would have had a more purpose-built feel than today’s actual village; you’d never be more than a stone’s throw from the ski-jumping arena, the the ice rink, or the biathlon course. Despite such differences, you can still see the influential role it played in leading to the Whistler we have today: the village location, elements of architectural design, perhaps more.

Whether you prefer the designs or today’s village, and whether the reality would have actually matched these preliminary sketches, are matters for debate. Regardless, these drawings offer endless opportunity for pondering what could have been.