[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 32 (Thursday, February 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO RYAN COCHRAN-SIEGLE

 Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, the State of Vermont is 
remarkably proud of Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who won a silver medal at the 
Winter Olympics in Beijing in the men's super-G. This achievement is 
specially impressive considering it occurred just 13 months after Ryan 
underwent surgery to repair a broken neck. His comeback is truly 
remarkable.
  It is not merely his success that Vermont honors, but the history of 
his family. Family is important in our State, which values community 
and continuity--both of which are embodied in family. Families--people 
who are linked by a shared home life, by a closeness to one another, by 
a mutual supportiveness--are at the heart of what our small State is 
about.
  Ryan's mother, Barbara Ann, won the gold medal in Slalom at the 
Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, in 1972, nearly 50 years to the day before 
her son's medal. Barbara Ann was Ryan's first ski teacher, and he 
learned where she did: at the small, family operated, nonprofit 
Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT,
  Cochran's was founded by Barbara Ann's parents, Mickey and Ginny 
Cochran, who were a remarkable pair of people. Mickey, who would become 
the alpine director of the U.S. National Ski Team, was not himself a 
champion skier, but an engineer and former University of Vermont 
football player, who valued family--and eventually skiing--above all 
else. Likewise, Ginny was dedicated to family and skiing. When they 
first established Cochran's Ski Area, it was a small, backyard 
operation. Today, it has grown into a center where generations of 
Vermont school children could learn to ski, still located on the small 
family hill.
  Ginny and Mickey had four children, Barbara Ann, Marilyn, Bob, and 
Lindy. All were champion skiers and made the U.S. Olympic Team
  Among their many other sking accomplishments, Marilyn Cochran Brown 
was a national champion three times, Bob Cochran was the first American 
man to win a World Cup in giant slalom, and Lindy Cochran Kelley won 
national slalom titles and was All American at University of Vermont--
and, of course, Barbara Ann, Olympic slalom gold medalist and two-time 
national champion.
  That tradition of family skiing excellence continued into the next 
generation, Mickey and Ginny's grandchildren. Lindy's children, Jessica 
Kelley, Tim Kelley, and Robby Kelley, all raced on the U.S. National 
Ski Team and all competed in World Cup races. Robby was the U.S. 
National Giant Slalom champion.
  Two of Bob's children were skiers: Jimmy Cochran, who won the U.S. 
Slalom competition three times and competed in the Olympic games; and 
Amy Cochran, a successful collegiate racer. Marilyn's son Roger Brown 
was on the U.S. Ski Team, winning the 2002 Slalom championship and her 
son Doug Brown was on the varsity ski team at St. Lawrence University. 
Together with two of their cousins, Doug and Roger have gone on to 
found another Cochran family business, Slopeside Syrup and Untapped. 
And of course, Barbara Ann's son, two-time Olympian and one-time silver 
medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who has also also competed in the World 
Cup.
  Clearly, the impact of the Cochran family is not only their world-
class skiing. Cochran's Ski Area is a bright spot in making skiing 
accessable and fun for all Vermonters. As a nonprofit, they welcome 
children from across the region to learn in a safe, judgement-free 
environment where the love of the sport is what matters, not the brand 
of your gear. The ``Skiing Cochrans'' are truly a Vermont legacy.
  ``Bravo!''

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