In 2001, the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation inaugurated the Jack Simpson Dedicated Coaches Award, designated to acknowledge the efforts of the coaches “in the trenches” who make outstanding contributions at the club level.

Jack Simpson grew up herding cows at the family ranch in Wendell before he moved to Sun Valley in 1939. For many skiers, and Jack was no exception, Baldy was a great teacher. It was on Baldy where he fell in love with skiing. A bold and fearless ski racer, it was after donning a blond wig to stand in as Sonja Henie’s skiing double in the movie “Sun Valley Serenade” that he got the nickname “Sonja.”

Simpson was a candidate for the national ski team, but his father talked him out of it, saying he wasn’t going to make any money doing it, said his longtime friend, Jerry Edwards.

Later, in the 1960s, Simpson established a junior racing program. It became the roots of today’s Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. To recognize his coaching ability, the Foundation honored him by establishing the Jack Simpson Dedicated Coaches Award. As a result, this award is presented to a coach who best exemplifies Simpson’s values.

Jim Savaria, Jack’s good friend and his first paid coach of the program, was the first recipient of this award.

Award recipients’ names are engraved on the Jack Simpson Dedicated Coaches Award which is displayed in the SVSEF Training Center at Warm Springs.