ÉLECTION DU CONSEIL D’ADMINISTRATION 2025 (OUEST)
Veuillez consulter la liste des candidats ci-dessous avant de voter (cliquez sur les noms pour plus d’informations).
Hello CASI friends/family,
My name is Mike Bray and I am very keen to announce that I would love to run for another term on the CASI board of directors to serve the best interests of not only those residing on the West Coast regions of Canada but the whole organization. For those I haven’t had the pleasure to meet yet, I have been a member of CASI since inception a ‘few’ years ago. I am an active Level 4 Instructor and Evaluator who also served on the CASI TEC for 8 years and have been on the selection committee for the CASI Technical team for the past 2 terms. I have been working at Mount Washington for 30 years after teaching in Ontario and the Lake Louise where I have held the role Assistant Snow School manager and an active trainer for many years. Those that are close to me you will tell you that I eat, breathe and speak about Snowboarding, Surfing, CASI and Business. I feel that my extensive experiences in Business and Life and a history of CASI TEC (the heart and soul of what we do) I can serve you(the membership) dynamically and with the understanding of the fabric it is built upon.
So far, I have been fortunate enough to work with many great CASI board members and staff to help direct, mould and shape the current state and future of our leading organization. To date, we have worked through changes in Executive Directors, developed an amazing Strategic Plan and put the organization in a very good financial position to ensure an optimistic future.
When I am not in the mountains, I am working at my businesses I have built over the past 30 years that are geared toward tourism, teaching and sport. I am the owner of two successful Surf Shops, a Surf School, a Lifestyles retail shop, Campground and former owner of a small resort in the west coast town of Ucluelet.
My role on Mount Washington has provided me with the opportunity to successfully manage a large team of over 200 instructors each winter that sees great returns in staff year after year. I am also responsible for building seasonal programs, training plans scheduling and building out multi-million dollar budgets as well as managing these budgets.
I can sincerely say I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on both the TEC and Board over the years and have had a great working relationship with each and every person who has been on them. My heart and passion for our sport and organization is clear to all those who I have worked with. I think our current strength is our ability to listen and adapt, to include, to grow. Having a strategic plan for structure and a guideline has been great, new roles and a restructure in our organization, a DEI committee were all necessary great additions and adjustments.
I feel that going forward, our biggest challenges will be managing our domestic and foreign course loads in a strategic manner that fulfills the needs of our resorts, members and foreign course providers. Course availabilities fluctuate annually depending on the commitments of you the members and you the evaluators/members. We need to be sure we can provide courses and evaluators domestically but also maximize on work abroad for those seeking the opportunity and keep our organization strong and supply the demand there too.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I would love your vote to serve you for a final term with the CASI board to continue on with the great work we have achieved and help shape the future of CASI with your help and input.
Sincerely,
W Mike Bray
Western Canada Board Representative – CASI
Assistant Snow School Managaer – Mount Washington Alpine Resort
CASI – level 4 Instructor -3 Evaluator – Park Evaluator – Carve Evaluator – CSIA – level 2
Owner/President Ucluelet Surf Shop Inc – Relic Surf Shop & Surf School -JX Surf Shop & Campground – TULA Décor/Lifestyle/Clothing
I am submitting my application to volunteer for CASI’s Board of Directors. I am confident in my suitability for the role for many reasons, though primarily due to my extensive 19 years of experience as a CASI instructor, trainer, and evaluator. I began my teaching career at the age of 14 at Silver Star, later instructing at Perisher in Australia for seven winters, and now I have spent over a decade in Whistler. Throughout my career I have built strong relationships with evaluators, trainers and instructors from around the world, and I have made use of their expertise to guide my own professional development.
Over the past decade, my focus has shifted towards training and evaluating, particularly for Levels 3 and 4. Conducting every level of CASI courses, including Park 1 and 2, has enabled me to refine and innovate teaching methodologies while gaining a deeper understanding of the administrative challenges within CASI’s courses. Mentoring new evaluators has also been a rewarding experience, providing fresh perspectives and discussions about the career of teaching snowboarding.
In December 2022, I launched Very Good Snowsports Training. VGST is a public-facing, instructor-training business in Whistler that offers programs for aspiring CASI instructors of all levels. Managing this business has honed my organizational and marketing skills and has taught me much about how to communicate and cooperate with industry partners.
And through all of this, I remain dedicated to teaching regular lessons. I believe that teaching the normal public is crucial for continuing to enrich my career, providing me with up-to-date experiences with beginners, novices, and intermediates that I can integrate into my training, evaluation, and contributions to the Board.
Beyond snowboard instruction, I have a diversified portfolio of skills and accreditations. I am Fluent in both English and French, and my educational background includes a Major in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from UBC-O with a GPA of 3.7. This program honed my writing skills, taught me how to interpret scientific and legal papers, as well as familiarized me with various software tools that I now find crucial for the running of VGST.
If elected as the Western Representative on CASI’s Board of Directors, I would be a voice for the professional instructor, a career that I feel is slowly dying in Canada. I would also be a voice for continued and increased investment in protecting ‘the CASI brand’ and its international reputation, which I believe is the association’s most valuable asset. I would also be a modernizing voice; I believe that CASI could improve course scheduling, evaluator development and brand protection by making use of data-driven analyses and a yearly membership census.
If elected, I would offer my skills in reading and interpreting legal documents and communicating with industry partners to try to position CASI as a champion for its working members. I would guide conversations towards increasing and improving mentorship, quality assurance and evaluator training, to continually improve our courses and providers. I would also be comfortable in fiscal discussions that are a main part Board’s purpose.
More than anything, I feel that I owe a debt of gratitude to CASI for shaping my life and achievements. Having been a member for over half of my life, I am honored to give back to this fantastic organization in whatever ways I can. I believe in CASI’s commitment to reassessing itself through an ongoing conversation among all members, and if elected, I am eager to play a larger role in facilitating that conversation. CASI’s philosophy of openness and innovation in snowsports instruction aligns with my values, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to continue contributing to its success.
Thank you for consideration.
Dom Oshanek
Pour voter, veuillez visiter le lien ci-dessous :