Pay it Forward: Meissner Nordic Ski Club

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Meissner Nordic Ski Club received a $500 donation from the Pay It Forward program for its ongoing work maintaining the Virginia Meissner Sno-Park. The group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and manages one of the largest Nordic ski areas in the Pacific Northwest.

The group says 50,000 skiers visit the Sno-Park each year. The organization grooms and maintains trails year-round, oversees the park's warming shelter, and offers free “Learn to Ski” days to the public. The club's efforts are funded almost entirely through private donations, making community support essential to its operations.

In addition to financial contributions, the organization relies heavily on volunteers to keep the trails safe and clear. Maintenance crews perform work during the off-season before winter snowfall arrives.

Larry Katz serves as operations manager for the Meissner Nordic Ski Club. Katz explained the routine effort required each fall to clear and maintain the trail system.

“In the fall, we have most of our volunteer work,” Katz said. “It's the clear trails. There's a lot of old trees that come down in windstorms during the summer, so trees have to be removed from the trails. There's always a brush encroaching on the trails. So we have crews to go out and trim back the trails.”