Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation

09/01/2026

We know it takes a village, or in this case, a valley! The best part of the Great Fish Community Challenge is the celebration of so many worthy non profits in our area. Hear from Executive Director Hilary Lindh on how many different nonprofits have impacted her life and how you can give back to your community in more ways than one 😊

Give where you live! We have just over a week left in the Great Fish Community Challenge

Whitefish Community Foundation
Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation
DREAM Adaptive Recreation
Whitefish Legacy Partners - The Whitefish Trail
Whitefish Songwriter Festival

08/27/2026

The Brust family has deep roots in ski racing. Katie’s cousins grew up racing here in Montana with FVSEF, while Katie grew up racing in Minnesota and continued through college. During college, Katie came out west to train with FVSEF, where she found a community that would eventually bring her back as a coach.

Katie’s love of skiing started with her dad, David Brust, who was her coach growing up and inspired her to pursue the sport. Now, three years into coaching with FVSEF, Katie has the opportunity to share that same passion and mentorship with the next generation of athletes.

From her dad coaching her, to racing herself, to now coaching young athletes, Katie’s story is a great example of how skiing can become a lifelong family tradition, and how the skills learned on the mountain can be passed down for generations. 🎿

08/25/2026

Community is at the heart of everything we do.

At Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation, we believe it takes a community to help young athletes grow, not just as skiers, but as confident, committed, resilient people. From coaches and families to volunteers, donors, alumni, and local businesses, every person who shows up helps make our program stronger.

That’s why we’re proud to be part of the Great Fish Community Challenge! The Challenge brings our community together to support local nonprofits and the organizations making a difference across the Flathead Valley. Every donation, share, and show of support helps us provide more opportunities for young athletes to learn, grow, compete, and build lifelong connections through skiing.

Community is our foundation, our athletes are our future, and together, we can make a bigger impact. ⛷️

Thank you to all who make it possible, including you!

And a huge thank you to our sponsors:
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake
Kandahar Lodge
Captain Tracker
North Brothers Builders
Great Northern Cycle & Ski
American Bank
Sportsman's & Ski Haus
Chris Wright CTW-Law
Black Diamond Mortgage
Lone Tree Insurance
Jimmy Johns
State Farm - Lyle Mitchell
Whitefish Self Storage
Budget Blinds of Kalispell
Rockfish Gym
Revel Real Estate
Whitefish Credit Union
Park Side CU
First Interstate Bank
Glacier Bank
Stockman Bank
Logan Health Orthopedics & Sports Med
Montana Helical Piers
JD Site Development
Pure West
Hidden Moose
Noble Wealth
Sam Brown
Night Owl/Back Room

08/20/2026

🎿 One family, two generations, a passion for skiing that keeps getting passed down.

For the Williams family, FVSEF has been part of their story for decades, and today, that legacy continues in a new generation of young skiers.

Mark Williams grew up ski racing and eventually brought that passion to FVSEF, serving as director, board member, and coach. His involvement helped contribute to an organization built around giving young athletes the opportunity to discover the same love of skiing, competition, and the mountains.

Then came his daughter, Maddy.

Maddy started racing with FVSEF’s Race Team at just 11 years old. What began as a childhood passion grew into something much bigger. After years of racing, Maddy returned to give back to the program that had helped shape her, and she has now spent 14 years coaching, currently serving as FVSEF’s Lead DEVO Coach. 🎿

That progression from athlete, to coach, to mentor, is exactly what makes a ski community so special.

FVSEF isn’t just about developing stronger skiers. It’s about creating a place where kids learn to challenge themselves, become responsible for their equipment and preparation, build friendships, work as a team, and gain confidence that extends far beyond the mountain.

And sometimes, the greatest measure of that impact is seeing former athletes come back and help the next generation find their own path.

Mark grew up racing. Maddy grew up racing. And now Maddy is helping young skiers discover the same joy, skills, confidence, and community that made skiing such an important part of her own life.

That’s the kind of impact that lasts. That’s the kind of legacy worth investing in.

As we celebrate the Great Fish Community Challenge, we invite you to listen to the Williams family’s story and consider how your support can help FVSEF continue creating these opportunities for generations to come.

Help us keep the legacy going and give where you live! Support your local nonprofits and learn more about the Greatfish Community Challenge at the link in our bio.

08/19/2026

First pop up donation station of the Great Fish Community Challenge yesterday in Columbia Falls! Thanks so much to our families who came out to support FVSEF and the Challenge! And a big shout out to FVSEF board member, Cari Klepper, who was there representing her nonprofit, during its first year ever participating in the Challenge.
Also....dryland conditioning training started this month for our race teams - fun seeing the kids forging and cementing friendships with their teammates, all while pushing themselves to be stronger this ski season.

08/18/2026

🎿 What does your donation to FVSEF support? So much more than time on the mountain. Your donation helps create opportunities for young athletes to learn, grow, have fun, build confidence, and become part of a community that can stay with them for a lifetime.

1. Scholarships: Helping make ski programs accessible to more local kids and families.

2. Skill development: Giving athletes the coaching, training, and opportunities they need to become stronger, more confident skiers.

3. Lifelong friendships: Creating a community where kids grow up together, challenge each other, celebrate each other, and build friendships that can last well beyond their years in the program.

4. Responsibility & independence: Learning to care for equipment, show up prepared, manage their gear, and take ownership of their role as an athlete.

5. Commitment & perseverance: Learning that progress takes practice, dedication, patience, and the willingness to keep working when things get difficult.

6. Fun & a love of the mountains: Because at the heart of it all, kids should have the opportunity to experience the joy of skiing.

And perhaps most importantly, your donation helps create an environment where young people learn lessons that extend far beyond the ski hill: how to work toward a goal, support a teammate, overcome challenges, take responsibility, and be part of something bigger than themselves. These are skills and relationships that can last a lifetime.

When you give to FVSEF through the Great Fish Community Challenge, you aren't just helping a kid ski this season. You're investing in the person they are becoming, and in a ski community that can impact generations.

Link in bio to support our athletes and learn more! Photo Credit: Coach Zane Summit

08/13/2026

🎿 Three generations, one family, one lifelong connection to skiing.

For the Love family, FVSEF isn’t just an organization, it’s been part of their family’s story for generations. Buck Love, grandfather, former FVSEF president, and longtime coach, helped shape the organization and the experiences it provides for young athletes. Hailey Love, Buck’s daughter and a former FVSEF athlete herself, now gives back as a parent and current FVSEF board member, continuing the family’s commitment to helping the next generation find the same opportunities she had growing up.

And now there’s Riley Love, Hailey’s son and Buck’s grandson, carrying that tradition forward as a current FVSEF athlete. 🎿

What makes a program like FVSEF so special is that the impact goes far beyond learning to ski faster or developing technical skills. It’s about the friendships made on the mountain, learning responsibility and how to care for and manage your own equipment, developing confidence and independence, working toward goals, supporting teammates, and building memories that last a lifetime. It’s about creating experiences that kids carry with them long after the season ends and into the next generation. The Love family is one example of what happens when a community invests in its young athletes: the impact doesn’t stop with one child. It can carry across generations.

As we continue to grow FVSEF, we hope to see more families experience that same lifelong connection to skiing, friendship, community, and the mountains.

🎿 Your support during the Great Fish Community Challenge helps make that possible.

Listen to the Love family’s story and hear firsthand how FVSEF can make an impact that reaches across generations.

Support FVSEF: https://whitefishcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1066

08/12/2026

Thank you Pierce, for choosing FVSEF!
Coach Pierce came to the Great Fish Community Challenge Launch Party last night- and he won one of five $1000 grants for the participating nonprofit of his choice! Guess who he chose? We know he also supports Glacier National Park Conservancy Whitefish Legacy Partners - The Whitefish Trail Glacier Nordic Club Montana Kayak Academy Nate Chute Foundation (to name a few) so we are especially lucky he chose us when there are so many worthy nonprofits in the Challenge!
Coach Pierce is our Lead All Mountain Ranger Coach- a former racer and freerider from the Mt. Hood area in Oregon. This will be his fourth year with FVSEF and we love his enthusiasm and how he relates to the kids. We're psyched to have you, Pierce 😎

08/11/2026

🎿 THE GREAT FISH COMMUNITY CHALLENGE STARTS TODAY!

The biggest community giving campaign of the year is kicking off today. We're joining 89 nonprofits in our valley for the biggest community giving campaigns of the year, and we’re asking the Flathead Valley to come together to support the efforts!

For more than 50 years, FVSEF has been creating opportunities for young athletes to learn, grow, compete, and build a lifelong connection to skiing and the mountains. From a kid learning their first confident turns to an athlete chasing big goals on the race course, FVSEF provides more than ski training. It creates a community where young people learn perseverance, discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, confidence, and what it means to work toward something that matters to them.

And here in the Flathead Valley, we know just how special that opportunity is. Our mountains are more than a scenic backdrop, they're a classroom, a playground, and a place where lifelong friendships and memories are made. FVSEF helps make sure local kids have the opportunity to experience all of it.

Today is Day 1 of the Great Fish Community Challenge, and your support can make an even bigger impact through this challenge. Participating nonprofits have the opportunity to receive matching funds through the Challenge, meaning your generosity can help FVSEF access additional resources to put toward coaching, programming, equipment, competition, and opportunities for young skiers.

Whether you've been part of the FVSEF family for years, have watched these athletes grow up on the mountain, or simply believe that every kid deserves the chance to find something they love, we'd love to have you on our team.

Give where you live and support your local nonprofits this month! Give kids the opportunity to ski, grow, and dream big. The Great Fish Community Challenge runs through September 11. Join us from the very beginning and help us make this year's campaign our strongest yet.

Donate today and help support the future of skiing in the Flathead Valley at the link in our bio!

08/11/2026

Let’s Go!

The 2026 Great Fish Community Challenge is officially HERE! 🎉🐟

From now through September 11, you can support 89 local nonprofits making a difference across the Flathead Valley, all through one convenient donation.

And we’re kicking it all off TONIGHT! Join us today, August 11 from 5–7:30 p.m. at Glacier Bank Park for the Great Fish Launch Party. Meet all 89 participating nonprofits, enjoy free food and beverages, and enter to win one of five $1,000 grants for the participating nonprofit of your choice!

Ready to make a splash?

Make a Gift: https://whitefishcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list
Learn More: whitefishcommunityfoundation.org/greatfish