Just two weekends ago at Big Sky, friends and supporters of the Billy Poole Memorial Fund got together to remember Billy Poole and teach Montana youth about skiing and enjoying the outdoors.

Working with The Big Sky Youth Empowerment Program, the Billy Poole Memorial Foundation just hosted a two-day ski weekend for some lucky youth in Montana. Friends and fans of Billy, Julian Carr, Jamey Parks, and Rachael Burks, were just a few of the skiers that attended to ski with the kids, sign posters, and compete in an annual turkey throwing contest. 

Billy Poole was on fire. I mean, literally the huge hunk of athletic-red-headed-muscle that threw rodeo 7's off cliffs, huge backflips, and enormous road gaps, used to always look like he was on fire. This wasn't only from his bright, fiery orange-red head of hair; He would literally steam...all the time. Take his helmet off, open up his jacket, or adjust his goggles and Billy Poole was enveloped immediately in a blanket of steam on skiing days. It was like his heart was always working overtime; he would sweat just thinking about skiing. I’d like to think of his steam as a visualization of the overwhelming amount of passion he had for skiing. He just plain exuded it. It evaporated off of him just like his laugh, his athleticism, his dedication, and his devotion to his friends and family. Billy lived an extremely fiery and passionate life. We now hope that his passion lives on through the Billy Poole Memorial Foundation and its capacity to get kids outside and stoke a passion within them for skiing and being in the outdoors. ­-----Rachael Burks

Billy's Mom, Phyllis.    Signing posters.