Derek Parra says his passion has always been his own. No one pushed him to pursue skating in his hometown, San Bernardino, Calif., a neighborhood dominated by African American and Hispanic gangs. Parra’s single father preferred football. And, certainly, looking back, he recognizes no one could have motivated him to train hard enough or long enough to win an Olympic Gold Metal in speed skating in 2002 (setting a world-record, to boot), but himself.
“I had to cross train tracks to roller skate when I was young,” he remembers. “I wasn’t eating lunch to save up for a pair of speed skates The desire was no one else’s but mine.”
Last year, Parra demonstrated a natural aptitude for fundraising at his first Jans Winter Welcome, an annual benefit for Park City’s Youth Wintersports Alliance, which helps children from all backgrounds compete in snow sports. Inspired by his own experience fighting the odds to compete in skating sports, Parra’s impromptu stage appearance bumped the bid for an auction item from $5,000 to $16,000. The effort caught the attention of the Alliance directors, who invited him back this year to emcee the event.
“Eric Heiden was offering a dinner at Solomon’s house and the bidding had stalled,” remembers Parra. “So I got up on stage and started going with it and we started thinking of different things to thrown in like ‘We’ll serve you dinner in our skin suits’ There was just this great connection between me and the audience.”
Parra credits his charisma to his participation in sports beginning at a young age helped him develop great habits for life that protected him from the sordid lifestyle that surrounded him in California. The Youth Wintersports Alliance opens doors for kids to choose a better direction like he did, he says. “An organization like this can change people’s lives,” he says. Supporting its cause, therefore, comes naturally.
“I said to Derek, ‘Clearly you’ve been an auctioneer before,'” recalls Shelley Gillwald, executive director of the alliance, “and he gave me that Holiday Express response. He said, ‘no, but I always wanted to be’ With that, Derek earned himself the role of master of ceremonies this year. He truly understands and embodies the benefits behind why we do an event like Winter Welcome.”
The Welcome event, hosted by Jans Mountain Recreation Experts, is one of Park City’s longest-standing galas. Next Saturday, as attendees mingle with 30 Olympians and celebrity athletes, the black-tie benefit will celebrate its 27th year. “There weren’t many auctions in town when the first Winter Welcome was thrown, “Gillwald says. “It was pretty visionary.”
“Share the Passion” printed on invitations as the party’s theme, will come to life during the gala with 18 Alliance athletes’ personal letters of inspiration displayed on large boards throughout Silver Lake Lodge. The letters were selected from the field of 65 athletes within the Alliance’s prestigious Circle of Excellence for kids who met competitive criteria such as competing internationally in Junior World or medaling at championship events.
“We asked our athletes to write essays about what drives them, because we wanted to share that with our guests on a personal level,” Gillwald explains. “The Winter Welcome is really about putting a human face to the organization they are supporting.”
Jans founder and owner Jan Peterson, who established the benefit nearly three decades ago, says it was his eldest daughter Andrea and her junior alpine program that started it all. He saw that while he could afford to equip his daughter with gear, lessons and coaches, many of her friends couldn’t afford it. Peterson rallied his contacts from the ski world and residents to support his daughter’s team, and the Winter Welcome was born.
In the first 20 years, Winter Welcome focused on providing aid to the Park City ski racing program. Then, during the Olympics, Peterson and his board decided to expand their mission to include a variety of sports, forming the nonprofit, the Youth Wintersports Alliance. The organization currently provides opportunities for kids to participate in aerials, figure skating, big mountain, half pipe, cross country, boarder cross, skeleton and bobsled.
“It’s been so rewarding,” Peterson says. “Watching the kids we’ve helped and watching them make national teams and Olympic teams I can’t think of anything I’ve done that compares.”
Jans 27th Winter Welcome
Hosted by Deer Valley Resort at the Silver Lake Lodge, Jans Winter Welcome will celebrate 27 years.
*6 p.m. – Red carpet welcome and Champagne reception.
*6:30 p.m. – Balanced Pairings of fine wines and cuisine throughout Silver Lake Lodge.
*8:15 p.m. – Silent auction closes by section
*8:45 p.m. Decadent desserts, live auction, Dare to Dream Scholarship Fund and Vacation In Paradise drawing
*9:30 p.m. Super Silent Auction closes; cordials, espresso and cigars
Reservations are required. Individual tickets are $250. Packages of eight with recognition, and reserved seating for dessert and live auction range from $2,500 to $3,500.
Tickets are available at Jans, located at 1600 Park Avenue. Reservations can be made by phone at (435) 649-1020 ext. 116; or by e-mail at [email protected] .