Lifetime Achievement & Industry Impact Awards

Recipients of NSAA's Industry Impact and Lifetime Achievement awards are visionaries, leaders, and trailblazers whose work has made our industry better.

2026 Recipients 2025 Recipients 2024 Recipients

Past Lifetime Winners Past Impact Winners

NOMINATE NOW

2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

pat cambell headshot

Pat Cambell

Paradigm Shifter

Campbell pushed back against the norm not only for women, but for the kinds of roles that were able to ascend at Vail Resorts and where those would-be leaders came from.

NSAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes those individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinary lifetime commitment to NSAA and the ski industry and whose contribution will benefit the industry for decades to come.

2026 Industry Impact Award Recipient

geraldine link headshot

Geraldine Link

Pioneering Partner

Tenacious, fierce, strong, authentic. These traits — characterizations repeated from industry colleagues and friends — propelled Link to the top of her game as NSAA’s director of public policy for nearly 30 years.

NSAA’s Industry Impact Award recognizes those individuals or organizations whose contributions have had a significant and valuable impact to the ski industry.

2025 Award Recipients

Lifetime Achievement: Chip Perfect

King of the Side Hustle

chip perfect
King of the side hustle, Perfect’s career so far has been one of startups, serial entrepreneurship, catalyzing change, having fun, and improving everything and everyone he touches.

Artful Engineer

chris cushing headshot
In his career, Cushing’s magic has touched resorts on five continents. Widely recognized in this industry, he's been the man behind the curtain for design awards that Deer Valley, Steamboat and other world-renowned resorts have won.

Lifetime Achievement: Russ Coloton

Master of Change

A Small Ski Area Big Thinker

Industry Impact: The Frontline Workers

Heroes of the Season

Whether they knew what they were in for or not, ski industry staff on the frontlines during the 2020–21 season signed up to do two jobs: the one on their nametag as well as officer of public safety. A combination of COVID in the air and cabin fever all around made for some unusual operating circumstances this season, exposing staff to everything from grateful guests to elevated levels of disrespect.