THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT HONOREE

With our 138th annual Ishpeming Ski Club Ski Jumping Tournament, we are proud to honor Mr. Dave Holli.

Dave grew up in the Cleveland Location neighborhood in Ishpeming, jumping the neighborhood hills with the likes of Roy and Leonard Bietala, Coy Hill, and “Jumpin’” Joe Perreault. They’d jump after school, and on clear nights, they’d jump after dinner. As a youth, he and his friends knew that the best show in town was the ISC annual ski jumping tournament at Suicide Hill; being young men of more physical means than financial, they made the roughly four-mile round trip trek through the woods in the dead of winter to see it all happen from among the trees.

A lifetime member, Dave became active in the Ishpeming Ski Club in the early 1960s. Though he was no longer jumping, he worked tirelessly to promote Nordic skiing in our area. Along with good friends like Norman Juhola, he helped build a first-class network of cross-country ski trails on our grounds, spending countless hours behind the wheel of a dozer on our trails, or a plow truck, clearing our road and parking lot of snow. When a new (and borrowed) dozer got stuck in a swamp, Dave hauled a new starter into its location on a sled and got to work. Another time, he installed a new hydraulic pump on a dozer, mid-winter, in the woods near Lake Angeline so that trail work could continue.

In the 1970s, the club knew that a new scaffold was needed under the inrun, and a professional advertising firm was contacted about securing the necessary revenue. They wanted $50,000 in seed money to get started—an impossibility for our small group, so Dave proposed a “Hundred Club,” giving a recognition pin to those who donated $100 at a time. Dave went door to door to start building this club. Soon he was able to present $6k for the effort, but when he quickly raised it to $14k, the club was able to recognize the feasibility of this plan and began putting the design phase into action. With his knack for putting the right people in the right places, Dave coordinated the engineering of the scaffold, the manufacture of the steel, and assisted with the construction. Whether marveling at the “gin pole” build process, which erected the tower without the use of cranes, or spending late nights back-cutting the planks to fit the scaffold so that the inrun slope could take shape, Dave was there. By the time the ski jump updates were complete, the ISC was able to move forward from the project debt-free, due largely to Dave’s efforts, with his childhood friend Coy Hill making the first jump on the new structure.

This is where Dave’s contributions to the Ishpeming Ski Club really take shape. Sure, he was instrumental in creating the bonfire tradition at our tournament—not only starting it, but also designing the log corral around the structure for safety and continuing to provide the logs for the fire each year through his company, Holli Forest Products—but it is his fundraising efforts that really make the difference. With his likable personality, business savvy, and connections, he has accounted for the sales of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in tournament ads over the years. His personal fundraising efforts have been a huge part of why the ISC is where we are today, and a driving force behind the reputation of our area being the U.S. center for Nordic skiing. Dave related a story of when he was a youngster working for the Federal Forest Service on a trip to Wisconsin. He had car trouble that put him out of commission, with only $27 to budget for the week. With a hotel bill to pay, he was directed to Skyline Motors, an automotive repair shop that might be able to help him out. Upon walking into the boss’s office, Dave recognized him from days of jumping with the Ishpeming Ski Club. When the week was over, that former ISC jumper had Dave’s car repaired at no cost because of his love for our area, our sport, and our club.

Dave is quick to point out that it’s not anything that he does that makes the real difference. It’s the community, the teamwork, the camaraderie. It’s our mutual love of our shared history and the skiing culture that makes up our DNA. It’s the time we spend participating in something we love that brings us together and makes us better people. Dave knows that it takes not only the parents of the kids in our programs, but the larger community as a whole to build on the core group of volunteers that keep this humble club going well into its second century. He believes that increasing involvement with this club will build stronger bonds in a larger community of caring and dedicated individuals. Adding skiers, whether in jumping or cross-country, whether locally or nationally at competitions, will expose more of our children to positive role models, lasting friendships, and lifelong health opportunities. This is his wish: that our area youth can continue to benefit from all we have to offer.

Now in his eighties, and with minimized sensation in his left leg, Dave is still able to cross-country ski. The classic tracks help him with his stability, and whether out on trail or from inside a heated cab on a job site, he can continue to enjoy the north woods as he always has. He would have liked to have been able to climb the steps into this broadcasting booth for a personal interview and an opportunity to thank everyone, but he wants you all to know that he is very grateful. He appreciates the honor, but it’s not about the recognition. It’s about our club, our sport, and our history. It’s about all the others that have given of themselves for this skiing heritage—past, present, and future—and it is his sincere hope that we, as a community, continue to carry it forward, long after each of us is gone.

Thank you, Dave Holli!