Chief
12-18-2007, 05:20 PM
Great little article today on Curtis Schuck at the Port of vancouver. If you watch the Port meetings on CVTV, Curtis is the fellow on Staff who does a lot of the presentations for the Commissioners on different agenda items. He's a great guy, and very, very good at his job.
http://columbian.com/sports/localNews/2007/12/12182007_All-About-Balance.cfm
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BY PAUL DANZER, Columbian staff writer
Life is all about balance for Curtis Shuck.
On weekends, when he is teaching young skiers the fundamentals of racing down the slopes, balance is a continual point of emphasis.
On weekdays, when he is plotting the future vision for the Port of Vancouver as its Director of Facilities, he must balance his time between helping shape the port's future and maintenance of its current facilities.
"I have probably the two best jobs in the world," Shuck said. "I understand that with that comes a lot of responsibility."
This time of the year, those responsibilities require a lot of time on the slopes. In addition to overseeing operations as the program director for the Meadows Ski Team at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort, Shuck is part of the team's coaching staff. As the director of the program, he oversees hiring and budget issues. As a coach, he focuses on the fundamentals that young skiers need to succeed at going down hill in a hurry.
Shuck, 45, started skiing as a third-grader in Anchorage, Alaska. He raced cross country in grade school, then switched to alpine events.
Like many of his peers, he dreamed of racing in Olympic and World Cup events.
In 1979, those dreams came to an end when Shuck slammed into a group of trees "at a high rate of speed."
The accident broke his back, but it didn't break Shuck's love of the slopes.
He couldn't race anymore, so he turned to coaching.
"The coaches I had growing up were my idols," Shuck said, noting that several former national ski team members were among his coaches.
"It's exciting to be able to give back to the sport and watch kids grow up and become good people," Shuck said.
In 1988, he moved to Port Angeles, where he served as manager of facilities at the port and as general manager and head coach at the Hurricane Ridge Ski Resort.
In the spring of 2005, he was hired by Mount Hood Meadows as its Junior 3 level head coach. At the time, he was still living in Port Angeles and planned to commute.
Then, in October of 2005, he was hired by the Port of Vancouver, greatly shortening his commute to his weekend job while bringing new professional challenges. In June of 2006, he became the program director for the ski team.
Shuck said he is thankful his supervisors with the Port of Vancouver give him the flexibility to pursue both of his passions.
Shuck's duties with the Port of Vancouver involve overseeing maintenance of current facilities and long-range planning of development at the port, contracting, real estate transactions and tenant development.
With the Meadows Ski Team, his responsibilities range from hiring and training coaches, to event planning and scheduling and coaching. His coaching emphasis is with the team's Junior-3 group, skiers in their early teens who are just beginning to compete for national-level points that are the gateway to the United States ski team.
Common challenges to the two jobs are managing multiple projects and communicating effectively to get things accomplished, Shuck said. The most satisfying part of both jobs, he said, is "being part of a great team."
Where does he find the time to successfully execute the two jobs?
"The good news is, my family's involved with the ski program," Shuck said.
Shuck has three children active in the program, Curtis III, 13, Keaton, 12, and McKenna, 10. He said he couldn't make his skiing life work if his family didn't share his passion.
"You've got to love the sport," Shuck said. "We definitely focus on fun."
Still, balancing a day job and weekend responsibilities creates challenges. Not unlike a skier trying to maintain balance while flying down the mountain.
"Balance is balance. I don't care if you're going 60 (mph) or 20," Shuck said.
He was making a point about the most important factor for ski racers, a fundamental fact that he often repeats during training sessions on the mountain.
But for Shuck, when the subject is balance, it applies as much off the mountain as on in his full-speed-ahead life.
http://columbian.com/sports/localNews/2007/12/12182007_All-About-Balance.cfm
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BY PAUL DANZER, Columbian staff writer
Life is all about balance for Curtis Shuck.
On weekends, when he is teaching young skiers the fundamentals of racing down the slopes, balance is a continual point of emphasis.
On weekdays, when he is plotting the future vision for the Port of Vancouver as its Director of Facilities, he must balance his time between helping shape the port's future and maintenance of its current facilities.
"I have probably the two best jobs in the world," Shuck said. "I understand that with that comes a lot of responsibility."
This time of the year, those responsibilities require a lot of time on the slopes. In addition to overseeing operations as the program director for the Meadows Ski Team at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort, Shuck is part of the team's coaching staff. As the director of the program, he oversees hiring and budget issues. As a coach, he focuses on the fundamentals that young skiers need to succeed at going down hill in a hurry.
Shuck, 45, started skiing as a third-grader in Anchorage, Alaska. He raced cross country in grade school, then switched to alpine events.
Like many of his peers, he dreamed of racing in Olympic and World Cup events.
In 1979, those dreams came to an end when Shuck slammed into a group of trees "at a high rate of speed."
The accident broke his back, but it didn't break Shuck's love of the slopes.
He couldn't race anymore, so he turned to coaching.
"The coaches I had growing up were my idols," Shuck said, noting that several former national ski team members were among his coaches.
"It's exciting to be able to give back to the sport and watch kids grow up and become good people," Shuck said.
In 1988, he moved to Port Angeles, where he served as manager of facilities at the port and as general manager and head coach at the Hurricane Ridge Ski Resort.
In the spring of 2005, he was hired by Mount Hood Meadows as its Junior 3 level head coach. At the time, he was still living in Port Angeles and planned to commute.
Then, in October of 2005, he was hired by the Port of Vancouver, greatly shortening his commute to his weekend job while bringing new professional challenges. In June of 2006, he became the program director for the ski team.
Shuck said he is thankful his supervisors with the Port of Vancouver give him the flexibility to pursue both of his passions.
Shuck's duties with the Port of Vancouver involve overseeing maintenance of current facilities and long-range planning of development at the port, contracting, real estate transactions and tenant development.
With the Meadows Ski Team, his responsibilities range from hiring and training coaches, to event planning and scheduling and coaching. His coaching emphasis is with the team's Junior-3 group, skiers in their early teens who are just beginning to compete for national-level points that are the gateway to the United States ski team.
Common challenges to the two jobs are managing multiple projects and communicating effectively to get things accomplished, Shuck said. The most satisfying part of both jobs, he said, is "being part of a great team."
Where does he find the time to successfully execute the two jobs?
"The good news is, my family's involved with the ski program," Shuck said.
Shuck has three children active in the program, Curtis III, 13, Keaton, 12, and McKenna, 10. He said he couldn't make his skiing life work if his family didn't share his passion.
"You've got to love the sport," Shuck said. "We definitely focus on fun."
Still, balancing a day job and weekend responsibilities creates challenges. Not unlike a skier trying to maintain balance while flying down the mountain.
"Balance is balance. I don't care if you're going 60 (mph) or 20," Shuck said.
He was making a point about the most important factor for ski racers, a fundamental fact that he often repeats during training sessions on the mountain.
But for Shuck, when the subject is balance, it applies as much off the mountain as on in his full-speed-ahead life.