Peace pole dedicated at North American VASA trailhead

Kicking off the 2011-2012 cross-country ski season on the North American VASA and Tart Trails in Traverse City, Michigan, a dedication of a peace pole at the trailhead garden of the VASA pathway took place on October 8.

Honorees at the event included Vojin Baic and Ted Okerstrom who started the nationally recognized North American VASA cross-country ski race that will be celebrating its 36th anniversary on February 11, 2012.

This year the race will also host two new events: The American Cross-Country Ski Association Masters National Championships and the Great Lakes Youth Ski Festival. For more information go to www.vasa.org.

Also honored at the dedication were George Lombard, chief builder of the VASA trail system, and David Hicks, 2011 VASA Volunteer of the Year.

Peace poles are international symbols of peace that bear the message "Let Peace Prevail On Earth" on all four sides of the pole. That message is written in three languages on the VASA peace pole to represented the heritage of the recipients, including Serbo-Croatian for Baic, Swedish for Okerstrom and English for Lombard and Hicks.