Whistler council has presented Whistler Blackcomb Mountain pioneer Hugh Smythe and two-time Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden with its highest honour. The Freedom of the Municipality Award was introduced nearly 50 years ago to honour citizens’ outstanding contributions to the community and was first awarded to Myrtle Philip in 1976.
Smythe and Wilhem-Morden were the 15th and 16th recipients. Sign up for local news alerts from Whistler Daily Post
Smythe and Wilhelm-Morden were celebrated at a ceremony at the Tuesday, October 22 Regular Council Meeting in Whistler, where a packed house responded to their tributes with an extended standing ovation.
“It is so special to be able to celebrate these two amazing members of our community who’ve contributed so much to what Whistler is today,” said Mayor Jack Crompton after the ceremony. “Both Hugh and Nancy came to Whistler at 18-years-old, and helped the resort grow and come into its own, just as they were. Whistler would not be the incredible, thriving, world-class resort and community it is today without the many years of work and service of these two. I am beyond thankful and thrilled to be able to bestow Council’s highest honour on them.”
The Freedom of the Municipality is a recognition authorized by the Province in the Community Charter that allows council to bestow the honour on a distinguished person, unit of the armed forces of Canada or another nation. It isn’t an annual award, but is handed out when the mayor or a council member brings forward a candidate, which must then be unanimously approved by Council.
Smythe is recognized around the world as a true trailblazer in the ski industry. He started working at Whistler Mountain the year it opened in 1966 as a ski patrol volunteer, over time moving up the ladder to Mountain Manager. In 1978, he subsequently led the group developing rival Blackcomb Mountain which, under his direction and influence, would later surpass Whistler Mountain in ski visits. He later joined Intrawest and took part in their expansion to other ski areas, the 1996 union of Whistler and Blackcomb, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games bid and the Peak 2 Peak Gondola development.
Wilhelm-Morden’s connections to Whistler go back over 50 years through her law practice, volunteerism, and time as Whistler’s mayor from 2011 to 2018. Prior to that, she served on Council four times, starting in 1984. She is recognized as one of the longest-serving elected officials in the Valley. Among her accomplishments, she is credited with helping secure Whistler as a selection for the site of the Audain Art Museum, founding the Community Foundation of Whistler, which provides grants to non-profit organizations throughout Sea to Sky, and signing the first official proclamation of Pride Week.
The Freedom of the Municipality distinction gives the recipient the right to vote in Whistler elections regardless of property ownership or residency. In less practical (and more apocryphal) terms, as highlighted by Mayor Crompton in his opening speech, it gives the recipients “…the right to drive sheep and cattle through the town square. The right to a silken rope, if hanged. The right to carry a naked sword in public. Or, that if the police finds a free person drunk and incapable, they will bundle him or her into a taxi and send them home, rather than allow them to spend the night in a cell.”