Leandro Vazquez Helped Light Up the Slopes
by Rowan Beck,
February 24, 2011, page 14.....

There has been quite a bit of “buzz” surrounding a little gem of a ski area just east of Charlotte – Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond. Fifty years ago Mickey Cochran created the area because he wanted a place where his children could train. The training was very successful: in 1972 there were four Cochrans on the U. S. Ski team, and his daughter Barbara Ann won the Olympic gold medal in slalom in Sapporo, Japan. In 1998 Cochran’s became the first nonprofit ski area in the United States, with the mission “to provide area youth and families with affordable skiing and snowboarding, lessons and race training, in the Cochran tradition. No child will be denied the opportunity to ski or ride.”
This has been its biggest year yet due to the addition of snowmaking equipment and lights for night skiing. Leandro Vazquez, a Charlotte community member, helped make it happen.
Approximately two years ago, a friend approached Leandro when Cochran’s was trying to raise money for snowmaking and other improvements. Lights were included in this plan, but efforts fell short. Cochran needed an additional $50,000 to make it happen. When Leandro was approached, he understood the importance of the lights. As the father of two boys who ski raced, he knew that having the lights would allow kids to practice after school, and that the extra time on snow would improve aspiring racers. He also loved Cochran’s mission statement. Leandro suggested they find a small group of families who were passionate about skiing and see what they could raise. He successfully rounded up approximately 15 families from the Charlotte and Shelburne area and raised enough money for the lights. Most people would have stopped there, but he didn’t.
“The easiest part is writing the check!” he laughed. “Then came the hard part.” One day over the summer he rode his bike by the mountain to see what was happening and what progress had been made. He ended up hopping on an excavator and helping install the 30 lights. He also helped with the installation of the snowmaking equipment. “It was a lot of hard work!” Through his and others’ volunteer efforts, the installation cost less than having a professional company do it. “It gave me a feeling of accomplishment.” He now sits on the Cochran’s Ski Area Board of Directors and hopes to help the area move to the next level.
Leandro and his family are no strangers to community service. His wife, Amy, was on the board of the Children’s Museum for seven years and just recently stepped down. She has chaired and volunteered for the Book Fair at Charlotte Central School (CCS) for a few years and participated in the Four Winds Program at CCS. The Vazquezes donated funds and the use of a tractor for the new CCS playground installed in 2009. Leandro currently sits on the board of Champlain College. “I like serving on boards that act and get things done.” He likes the board of Champlain because of its members’ involvement and passion for the school. Champlain College invites board members to take classes so they can see firsthand what the college accomplishes.
Leandro is not one to sit around. “I can’t” or “no” are not acceptable answers to him. There is always a way, and that is why he has been so successful with his community efforts. He has been able to cut costs and raise money when times have been tough. He can look outside the box for answers and ways to do things efficiently. “A river never flows in a straight line. When it comes to a rock, it always finds a way around. It doesn’t stop, it always finds its way,” he said.
He credits his drive to his parents, who raised him in the Philippines. “They were adventurous.” With them he traveled in Southeast Asia and lived in a house they built three hours outside Manila, off the grid. He laughed as he spoke about running up the stairs to fill the bathtub when the lights flickered because he didn’t know how long he would be without power. “Growing up around people who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from grounded me.” He attempts to instill these same ideas in his children to keep them grounded.
Leandro and Amy moved to Charlotte in 2000 for this very reason. They settled on Charlotte because they believed in the healthy lifestyle and low-key way of life. Leandro enjoys the amount of experience he finds among community members and believes in the school system here. Moving here from London, he knew he was sacrificing being in the “buzz” of the financial world, but quality of life, in his eyes, is more important. Like many others who have moved here, he continues working in his field. He just had to get creative.
He has many irons in the fire and a great appreciation for most things. He feels the importance of community service and believes all can participate, no matter how small the contribution. Money is one way to contribute, but, to him, time is more important; it gives the donor the most satisfaction. “It’s good to get your hands dirty. Money has the impact but you need the good, positive energy to keep the ball going.” Leandro is a good example of this as he pushes dirt around to dig a trench for lights at Cochran’s. He is a flurry of activity with a positive disposition. “I believe you should always try something once. It humbles you and makes you appreciate the people who do it all the time,” he said. He quoted Mao Tse-tung, who said, “Sometimes you need to eat a little salt in order to appreciate the sugar.” With a smile and a twinkle he was off, on his way to Cochran’s to help install the tubing for this year’s maple sugaring season, something he had never done before.
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Happy 50th Anniversary to Cochran’s Ski Area
On Saturday, March 5, Cochran’s will roll back the clock to 1961 prices. All lift tickets will be 25 cents. There will be a vintage 1960s slalom race at 2 p.m., music and merriment at 4:30 p.m. and a Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 6 p.m.