George Ouellette

George Ouellette started skiing with wood skis and leather straps for bindings as a youngster in Lewiston, Maine. He skied cross country on his four event skis to a small mountain on the Bate College campus where he could practice making turns. Considering himself an intermediate to advanced recreational skier, his competition was limited to a few races in college and later recreation against fellow ski writers.

It was as a journalist that Ouellette had his impact on Maine and New England skiing. In 1959 as an announcer for WMTW TV, channel 8, he introduced the first television program in the country totally devoted to skiing. He produced and hosted “Ski Trails”, a half hour program, 18 weeks every season for the next 11 years. In those pre cable days, Channel 8’s antenna location atop Mount Washington sent the program into Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with the signal best in many mountain communities. The show featured filmed footage of major ski competitions in the Northeast, interviews with local, national and international ski personalities. He took his audience on film tours of various Maine, New England, U.S. and European Ski Resorts and introduced them to new ski equipment and apparel.

Ouellette was among the reporters at Wildcat in 1959 during the Olympic tryouts when the first discussions of creating a new organization for professional ski writers. He was part of a group that gathered in Jackie Jones kitchen in Jackson, NH to get the new organization underway. Over the next few years the group’s meetings led to the first annual meeting in 1963 of the eastern Ski Writers Association and from 1967-69 Ouellette served as the third president of fledgling organization, a position held by some of the most prominent ski journalists in America. The organization has had an many 160 members and is the Eastern division of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association with close to 400 members. He was made an honorary member by ESWA in recognition of his service to the organization and the sport of skiing.

During the 11 years of ski trails George showcased all or most of the ski areas in Maine and New England along with such nationally known resorts as Sun Valley, and Jackson Hole. He also conducted and filmed a a ski holiday tour of St. Anton, Austria and Davos, Switzerland. In 1969 he hosted a syndicated radio show and in 1971 his PR firm helped develop the theme and produce promotional events for the Tall Timber Classic at Sugarloaf.

His last ski assignment was in 1980 when Chummy Broomhall asked him to serve as a stadium announcer for the cross country events at the Lake Placid Olympics. For skiers all over northern New England George Ouellette served as a pied piper, leading them to the slopes through his show “Ski Trails”. His shows enticed a generation of skiers to the slopes and the organization he helped found helps the current generation of ski journalists to inform even more skiers. His dedication to the sport has earned George Ouellette a place in the Maine SkI Hall of Fame.