[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 56 (Monday, March 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4672-S4673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         TRIBUTE TO FRANK HEALD

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, in my home State of Vermont, 
above my home city of Rutland, the Coolidge Range of the Green 
Mountains dominates the skyline. One of the kings of this range is the 
great rounded summit of Pico Peak, 3,957 feet high.
  On the northern and western slopes of this Vermont giant are the ski 
trails of Pico Ski Resort, one of Vermont's oldest ski areas. Long 
known as the Friendly Mountain, it is the place where my family has 
skied. Believe me, some of its trails test the friendly description.
  Since 1971, Frank Heald, a good friend of mine, has well served Pico 
and Vermont. Frank is now retiring as Pico's executive vice president 
and general manager holding the later post since 1982.
  Under Frank's leadership, Pico has grown into a major Vermont ski 
area, a major eastern ski area. His accomplishments loom nearly as 
large as the mountain itself.
  When I was a youngster, the ski area reached only to a sub-summit of 
Pico, the grand mass of the main mountain hardly utilized at all by the 
ski area. Now the lift lines and ski trails go all the way to the top, 
not only on Pico but on surrounding summits. On a cloudy day, the 
trails seem to descend from the sky.
  With Frank's sure guidance, modern lifts have been installed, as have 
a 
[[Page S4673]] sports center and trailside condo complexes. New trails 
have been cut, snowmaking has been upgraded. Summer has become almost 
as busy as winter with an alpine slide, crafts fairs, concerts. Some 
150,000 skiers visit the mountain each year.
  But Frank has not limited his talents to serving Pico. His community 
and his State have benefited from his many talents, time and again. He 
currently serves as chair of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont 
board and as president of the Alpine Pipelines Co. He's a trustee of 
the Vermont Historical Society and a member of the Rutland 
Redevelopment Authority and is a past president of the Vermont Ski 
Areas Association. And he has long worked to bring inner-city kids to 
Pico to experience Vermont outdoor recreation. Also, he chaired my 
Congressional Youth Awards Program in Vermont.
  That is only a partial list of the worthwhile enterprises which Frank 
has graced with his unfailingly sound judgment and boundless energy. 
Vermont is the better for his having come our way.
  Pico is a place of legends. The Mead family, legends of American 
skiing, founded the area and on it many ski champions have learned the 
sport and developed into world class skiers. The most famous of all was 
Andrea Mead, the first American woman to win an Olympic ski medal.
  When the stories of Pico and its famed sons and daughters are 
recalled at firesides down the long winter nights of Vermont winters 
ahead, the name of Frank Heald will be mentioned with the greats as a 
true pioneer and entrepreneur of Vermont skiing. His contributions are 
worthy of recognition here in the U.S. Senate.


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