Team AVSC Blog

Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club announces a new Executive Director

August 12, 2025
Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club announces a new Executive Director

Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club Nordic Program Director, club alumnus, and lifetime local August Teague will lead Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club as its next Executive Director. As AVSC looks ahead to its 90th anniversary in two years, this role has never been more important to help guide the club into a new era of supporting youth athletics and ensuring that every child in the greater Roaring Fork Valley has the opportunity to excel as athletes and people through winter sports. 

"Throughout the interview process, August showed us how he exudes our values of teamwork, commitment and integrity," said AVSC Board President Beth Hoff Blackmer, who is also filling in as Interim Executive Director. "We saw amazing energy from August with fresh ideas, a deep desire to work as a team with the incredible staff at AVSC, and a commitment to continue making AVSC the Quick read more or view full article best ski club in the country." 

Teague grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and competed in both the Nordic and Alpine programs at AVSC. After graduating from Colorado Rocky Mountain School and the University of Denver, he held key coaching positions at Whitman College, the University of Nevada (where he served as Director of Skiing and Head Nordic Coach), and as the Head Coach of the Australian National Ski Team at the Sochi Olympics and on the World Cup Circuit. In 2016, he returned home to AVSC as the Nordic Program Director, where he has led one of AVSC’s largest programs with more than 350 athletes and more than 60 staff. Under his leadership, the Nordic program has evolved into a deeply connected and passionate community that reflects both the mission of AVSC and the fabric of our Roaring Fork Valley communities. With his background at every level of the sport, from NCAA coaching to Olympic athlete preparation to nonprofit governance to his personal and professional connection to AVSC, it was a natural fit for him to step into this role. 

“The club is in a place of vast opportunity,” said Teague. “I believe in the AVSC family and the people who make it great, and I feel confident in our potential to realize every opportunity at hand. We are ready to move forward, and I am honored to have been chosen to lead that charge and help accelerate the club to the next level.” 

Teague’s first day as Executive Director will be September 3, 2025, and he plans to prioritize expanding program access and participation, keeping athletes and families engaged and informed, supporting high-level performance, and strengthening our culture with the ultimate goal of building athletes who are not only world-class performers but also exceptionally good people.  
In addition to Teague’s promotion, Beth Hoff Blackmer, who is in her second term on the AVSC board, replaced outgoing president Ryan Smalls on August 1 as the new president of the Board of Directors. Hoff Blackmer is the fifth woman to serve as board president in the 88-year history of the club. 

"This is a very exciting time for AVSC," said Hoff Blackmer. "We continue to give 3,000 children in this community the greatest experiences whether that is the first winter on snow or training for the Olympics. We support all levels of winter sports. As we enter an Olympic Games winter, it is always great to see how many of our former athletes are potential Olympians and how inspiring this legacy is for the rest of our athletes." 

With this new leadership in place, AVSC is poised for an exceptional winter season. The competitive year-round Team program, with approximately 600 athletes, kicked off on August 1, and the recreational program, Aspen Supports Kids (ASK), which serves over 2,000 local youth, opens for registration on August 24, 2025. AVSC also has begun planning its largest fundraiser of the year, the 16th annual Audi Ajax Cup, which will take place on December 30th. Team, sponsor, and pro racer registration is now open for the race, and more information on all of the above may be found at www.teamavsc.org.
Read Less

AVSC honors longtime ASK program chaperone Jim Shaw with Bob Beattie Award

August 4, 2025
On Sunday, August 3, 2025, Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club staff, friends, and family gathered to honor Jim Shaw, this year’s recipient of the Bob Beattie Award. Named after one of AVSC’s original founders and local legend, Bob Beattie, this award honors someone who has shown outstanding dedication to the Aspen Supports Kids Program over the span of several years and has helped fulfill Bob’s vision of enabling thousands of children in the Roaring Fork Valley to know the joys of skiing and snowboarding. This award has traditionally gone to a ski school professional, but for the first time ever it honors a transportation program chaperone. 

“There are so many important players within the Aspen Supports Kids program, and I could not think of a more deserving person to honor and say thank you to than Jim Shaw,” said Meredith Elwell, Director of the AVSC Aspen Supports Kids recreational program. “Jim is reliable, trustworthy and kind to Quick read more or view full article everyone he interacts with. For years he has faced the controlled chaos of transporting 40-50 kids and all of their gear to the mountain each weekend with grace and humor. Without his support it would not have been easy to share the love of the mountains with so many kids.”

For 18 years, Shaw has served as a chaperone for the ASK program. ASK chaperones fulfill a critical role for our program. They ensure kids riding the free AVSC buses get to their destinations, have a lift buddy if needed, and return home safe again at the end of the day. They are the welcome and familiar faces who greet our participants each week, and they add such a special warmth and human touch on busy ski lesson days.

At the mid-valley award celebration, friends, family and colleagues shared stories about Jim’s time as a chaperone at AVSC, and there was plenty of talk about lost mittens, slope shenanigans, and how Jim always knew the best stashes to ski on Aspen Snowmass. More than one guest commented on how Jim had taught them about skiing and life through his contagious love of the mountains.

Shaw, who moved to the area in the 1980s, first came to Aspen as a sales rep for Wills Wing hang gliders. He fell in love with the Aspen vibe, worked as a charter pilot here, and ran the flight school. Many locals got their small aircraft pilot's license with him as their teacher. After a first bout with cancer, he hung up his pilot license but not his zest for life. A longtime skier, surfer and hang glider, Shaw began volunteering for AVSC around 2007 and is a much-beloved and appreciated member of the AVSC ASK team. 

Thank you, Jim, for your smile, your generosity, and your many years of service to AVSC and the Aspen Supports Kids program.

  Read Less

Welcome to new AVSC Board President Beth Hoff Blackmer

August 1, 2025
The first day of August is a day of transitions for AVSC. Not only are we welcoming a new fiscal year and the start of a new year of TEAM programming for athletes but also it’s time for board member transitions. A huge thank you to outgoing AVSC Board President Ryan Smalls, who gave his heart and soul to the organization from 2019 to 2025. Ryan will now be stepping into the illustrious ranks of past presidents.  

We extend the warmest of official welcomes to our new AVSC Board President and Interim Executive Director, Beth Hoff Blackmer. Beth is a lifetime resident of the Roaring Fork Valley. Her parents moved to town in 1964 with three young children who all participated in the Aspen Ski Club. Beth raced until she departed for the University of Colorado. After graduating from CU Boulder, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and worked in the international trade and active sport Quick read more or view full article industries for 10 years. She returned to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1995 and continued in the active sports industry until 1999. 

In 2000, she began working at Aspen Rent-All and purchased the business from her father, Dave Hoff, who founded the business in 1967. Since then, Aspen Rent-All has been recognized as a Colorado Biz Magazine Top 100 Women Owned Business since 2015 and a Top 200 Private Company since 2020. During this time, Beth also has been active with the American Rental Association, where she served in a variety of leadership and board roles since 2010. She was the second female board president from 2019-2021 and won both the President’s Image Award in 2013 and the Region 7 Person of the Year award in 2018. In 2025, Beth received national recognition with a Titan of Industry award, which recognizes individuals with exceptional leadership, vision, and impact. After a successful 25 years with Aspen Rent-All, Beth recently sold the business to her former manager. 

Beth is not new to the AVSC Board of Directors. She served previously from 2000 to 2008 and additionally received AVSC’s Legacy Family Award in 2014 and AVSC’s Most Valuable Community Partner award in 2013. She rejoined the board in 2022 and will serve as the fifth female board president in the 88-year history of the club.  

An avid skier and horsewoman, Beth is married to Kent Blackmer and resides in Old Snowmass. They have two labrador retrievers and two horses. She also enjoys cycling, diving, and traveling. With her exceptional business acumen and long history in the Roaring Fork Valley and with club, we are excited to have her stepping into this new role.  Please join us in officially welcoming Beth Hoff Blackmer to the helm of the AVSC Board of Directors.   Read Less