HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01 A Proclamation In Recognition of Vail's Trailblazer Award Recipient Dr. Jack Eck
PROCLAMATION NO. 1, SERIES OF 2024
IN RECOGNITION OF VAIL’S TRAILBLAZER AWARD RECIPIENT
DR. JACK ECK
Whereas, the Town of Vail Celebrated its 50th birthday of incorporation as a municipality on
August 23, 2016, with numerous festivities taking place, including the debut of the Vail
Trailblazer Award Program, a civic recognition whereby the Vail Town Council acknowledges an
individual/s that exemplifies the spirit and fortitude in making Vail a great community through
selfless contributions of time and talent which have made a lasting impact;
Whereas, Dr. Jack Eck, a native of Pennsylvania, who had skied Vail during a medical
internship in Denver in the 1960s, arrived in Vail in 1971 after having served as a flight surgeon
in the Vietnam War, was immediately hired by Vail’s first physician, the late Dr. Tom Steinberg;
Whereas, by the late 1970s, Dr. Eck became the first Medical Advisor for the Vail Ski Patrol, as
well as the first physician to serve on the patrol, and established the basic medical qualification
criteria for the ski patrollers, which many of those he trained became the core of the local
paramedic community and the Eagle County Ambulance District;
Whereas, one of Dr. Eck’s innovations, a mobile cardiac program, along with other developed
medical first responder techniques, were modeled by ski patrols throughout the U.S. and
adopted by the U.S. Ski Team;
Whereas, Dr. Eck was instrumental in establishing the practice of tracking mountain injury
statistics, including the locations of those injuries. The data led to better skier traffic control and
improved safety measures in ski mountain management, in addition to safety innovations in ski
equipment;
Whereas, in 1980 Dr. Eck founded Vail Internal Medicine and helped establish a
cardiopulmonary program and Vail’s first intensive-care unit (ICU) at Vail Valley Medical Center,
now Vail Health;
Whereas, Dr. Eck was crucial in the establishment of the Shaw Cancer Center, a state-of-the-
art regional cancer center which opened in 2001. In a surprise celebration in 2007, he learned
that Jack’s Place, the cancer caring house developed as part of the facility, was named in his
honor. Jack’s Place provides patients and their families with a short-term, nominal-cost place to
stay during their cancer treatment; and
Whereas, Dr. Eck was named Vail Valley Foundation Citizen of the Year in 2008, and was
inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Museum Hall of Fame in 2015. He served as a board
member with many organizations such as the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center
at the University of Colorado, Home Care and Hospice of the Valley, Quality Committee of the
Vail Health Board and the Vail Valley Medical Center and he currently serves on the board of
Eagle County Paramedic Services.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it proclaimed by the Vail Town Council, the ninth recipient of the Vail
Trailblazer Award is Dr. Jack Eck, a man who has demonstrated over the past 60 years his
courage, leadership, vision and commitment to the values that define this community. This is
our tribute to you as we extend our sincerest appreciation for your commitment to the safety and
health of all Vail’s residents and guests.
Dated this 5th day of March, 2024.
Vail Town Council Attest:
______________________ ___________________________
Travis Coggin, Mayor Stephanie Bibbens, Town Clerk