GENEROUS GIFT TO MMCF FROM BILL GRADDY
The mission of the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation (MMCF) is to provide opportunity and access to the Eastern Sierra for all. By financially supporting youth academics and athletic programs in the Eastern Sierra, we inspire future generations to love our mountains, be the best version of themselves, and dream big. Bill Graddy had a similar “life mission” and his generous gift to MMCF will ensure that we are able to continue providing support to local youths to experience the mountains and pursue their dreams.
The Bill Graddy Trust generously gifted MMCF $1.25 million dollars to help fund a number of programs in our organization that support local youths, including the MMCF Grant Program.
The MMCF Grant Program provides funding to schools and organizations throughout the Eastern Sierra that create educational and athletic programming for local youths. Specifically, we will be able to support more schools by covering the costs of their Ski PE programs on the mountain; which provides many local youths with their first experience on the mountain.
The entire MMCF staff extends their deepest appreciation to Bill Graddy and his family for their generosity. This gift will have an impact on generations of families in the Eastern Sierra.
At a recent event for the Disabled Sports Eastern Sports (DSES) Advisory Council, Anna Allen spoke about the late Bill Graddy who passed away December 3, 2022. “Material objects and travel were never a priority for Bill. From looking at him, you would never know that he had money to spend.” But, having been the executor of his estate, Anna knew that this was not the case.
Bill was raised in Pacific Palisades and had been fortunate to visit Mammoth with his family before heading to Fort Lewis College in Colorado, where he hoped to slow his college career long enough to avoid the draft. The Army found him, but instead of sending him to Vietnam sent him to Germany, where his military service included numerous ski trips, effectively changing the trajectory of his life.
Returning from Germany, Bill decided that Mammoth should be his home. He returned and worked in Ski Patrol then Ski School, quickly becoming fully certified with the PSIA and dedicating himself to teaching. Always a sportsman, Bill also raced in the Village Championships year over year, often being on winning teams and being the individual champion more than once.
Bill was fortunate to befriend Jack Copeland and soon after they were joined by Kathy. The dedication that Jack and Kathy offered to teaching was always admired by Bill. Although he focused on teaching adults, Bill wanted to see children and athletes of all abilities have the opportunity to experience skiing.
Bill was raised with an older brother who tragically perished in 1990 while vacationing in Mexico. No other family members were close, leaving Bill with only his Mammoth family of Ski School and Hosts, the last department he worked in during his 50 years at Mammoth Mountain. Bill’s father, a successful engineer, had been able to provide comfortably for his family and when he and Bill’s mother aged, they decided to provide Bill with a comfortable inheritance.
The inheritance he received was never used and, as Bill aged, he decided to support some of his passions, including those that his friends and mentors supported. And so it was that Anna and Brent Allen, longtime friends that Bill made through Ski School and the Host Program, were able to announce with extreme excitement, and a small dose of amazement, the incredibly generous gifts that he left the organizations that he loved working with: more than $2.5 million dollars to benefit DSES’s Jack & Kathy Copeland Center at Fern Creek Lodge, and more than $1.25 million dollars each to the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation and the Mammoth Lakes Foundation. Wow!
Bill dedicated his life to being an active and engaged community member of his beloved Mammoth Lakes and through his legacy we will continue to help share his love of the Eastern Sierra with all.
