Racing is nothing new to one of Canada’s best and toughest athletes.
But with the announcement this week that Stacy Kohut would enter the race to be Whistler’s mayor the course of his life has taken a different turn.
"I am excited because I represent a lot of other people like me," said 35-year-old Kohut, who has called the resort home since 2002.
"We know why we are here, we know our roles in the service industry, and we know the chances of us owning our own home in the community is very small.
"But we still want to be here, we still want to participate in this lifestyle and we still want to raise families in this community. I think it is time for someone like myself, a Generation X’er, to stand up and say, ‘Hello. Guess what? For the most part it is we, the front-line soldiers, who are actually making this community work.’
"We are making this work, and if we are still jazzed up about this town then how come everyone else can’t be?
"I want to bring the jazz back."
Kohut, a Paralympic medallist in sit skiing, a fearless four-wheeled mountain biker, and on staff at Nesters Market, said he was shocked when he came to Whistler from Banff and found the community struggling with its own identity. To him it seemed as if the town could not decide where to place its marketing focus: with youth, the 18 to 35 year-olds, or with families. Without a clear market Kohut believes the resort is failing to capitalize on its success.
As mayor he would like to go to the community and ask them where it wants to focus its energy.
"There needs to be a vote out to the community," said Kohut, who worked on the Banff Advisory Council while resident there.
"I think we need to be very honest with ourselves and say what is our product. How do we sustain the physical infrastructure that we have built here so far? We have to keep those hotel rooms full, we have to keep people coming back and we’ve got to keep people recognizing that we are authentically hip and ready to connect with youth culture."
To Kohut, it is critical that the resort is authentic. He believes travellers are too sophisticated now to accept anything less. So he has a big problem when events come to the village promoting for example, youth culture, where bikini-clad women celebrate liquor and beer, but at the same time offer family events side by side.
He would like to see a "bridging group" made up of RMOW representatives, Intrawest and Tourism Whistler to look at the issue and, with community input, chart a way forward.
Part of that may be re-looking at the bed-cap issue. Kohut believes it may be time to scrap the whole idea.
"Let’s break the bed cap," he said. "Who wants to limit growth. I don’t think any individual in this community ever wants to put a limit on how good a skier, or how good a fisherman, or how good of a businessman they are going to be.
"It just seems so counterproductive and it seems so against what Whistler’s vibe is. The vibe is go for it, do it, get out there and experience stuff, never stop learning, never stop growing, and never stop meeting new challenges. But then when it comes to having actual new neighbourhoods built onto our community we are saying no.
"This isn’t a gated community, this isn’t an exclusive community. Let’s put these questions to the community again."
There is no doubt the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will also play a role in the growth of the community said Kohut. As a Paralympic competitor he knows first hand the challenges and rewards such an event can bring to a community. He believes Whistler should view the opportunity as a starting point.
"It should be a great coming-out party, to express to the world that we are ready to move into the next phase of who we are and the next phase of what we want to be," said Kohut.
He also hopes that the event raises the resort’s profile so that even more events look to Whistler as a host.
"We need the X-Games," he said. "We need everything, every big event we can get we should get here, whether it has got to do with sport, or art or culture or culinary expression or wine. Let’s get them here."
As a member of the national disabled ski team Kohut has travelled the world competing and has had a chance to see how other resorts compete for market share. He believes that experience gives him a well-rounded view of Whistler’s role in the international marketplace.
It also offered him a chance to be a team leader.
"One of my strengths is being able to draw people together and get them all pulling in the same direction," said Kohut.
"I think it is really important that this mayor, our new mayor, gets people to realize that egos have to be checked at the door. This is not a place for personal agendas and this is not a place for family-style squabbles. It is a place to work together with a common direction and a common goal, with all pulling on the same rope."
