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PCMR raises money for Pagets

Dan Bischoff, Of the Record staff

Mostly accidents happen to other people. But, sometimes they happen closer to home.

"Obviously there was devastation and worry," said Linda Cooley, the human resource recruiter for Park City Mountain Resort, where Tim Paget worked.

Paget and his wife Annette are a local family who lost their 3-year-old daughter, Alexis, in a car accident in Parley’s Canyon two weeks ago. Annette is still in critical condition with an amputated arm and has several other critical injuries. Tim, a previous Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) ski patroller, was not in the truck with them. This is the same family who lost their 17-day-old baby, Shawn, on Nov. 26.

"Regarding the accident on I-80, we had a number of the employees and friends of the family connected. A lot of them had seen the accident, driven by it or knew the family," Cooley said.

There has been a fund established at Wells Fargo. People can donate directly to the Paget fund. PCMR, however, decided they wanted to do something more.

"Tim was a patroller here and the mountain patrollers decided to do something. They came to us and asked ‘What can we do? How can we help?’ So many staff members were asking about it."

They decided on a fundraiser. PCMR will hold a drawing Feb. 12 among the PCMR community with donations from resort employees, Park City residents and local companies.

PCMR first considered opening this event to the public, but because of the large interest among Park City, it had to keep it in house.

"It will take place in house, this will be the most efficient way to help out," Cooley said.

Cooley said, PCMR doesn’t have the personnel to organize and control a huge event.

"We wanted to let The Park Record know so people can go to Wells Fargo and contribute," Cooley said.

Much of the public, however, may already know.

"More than anything, this is Park City’s community that has come together," Cooley said, "The community has been the ones asking for it. Our community has already started the effort."

Recently, there seems to have been a series of tragic accidents. By organizing this fundraiser, Cooley doesn’t want to take away from the other families in need.

"There have been a lot of accidents in Park City. We are real cautious of the public thinking, ‘why this and not others?’ Park City Mountain Resort does what they can, when they can. It’s the staff members that are doing this."

Because the accident happened to what Cooley termed the "PCMR family," this fundraiser fell into place.

"He was like a brother, he’s family," said Bert Pacal, a PCMR mountain patroller.

Mountain patrollers often form bonds during their time working together as four-man teams.

"There’s a lot of work that’s not fun and you get to ski together and do some fun things together. It’s a mix that you bond through," Pacal said. "We never had a negative moment. We dealt with a few accidents last year that weren’t particularly pretty."

"(Tim) was an inspiration because he was always looking for the good in situations and enjoyed life. There was energy coming off of him all time," Pacal said.

Krista Parry, the communications manager at PCMR said the desire to help the Pagets didn’t just come from the Mountain Patrol and PCMR.

"I think it’s the whole community coming together," Parry said. "He was part of the Park City community and they were very active."

Both Cooley and Parry credit local businesses for promptly supporting the fundraiser.

"The big thing to mention," Cooley said, "is the support from the other local businesses in town. The other donations are amazing."

"Businesses just came forward," Parry said.

Nathan Rafferty, the president of Ski Utah was one. Ski Utah is donating the Ski Utah Interconnect Tour for two people. The guided tour connects skiers to six different Wasatch Mountain resorts through the backcountry.

"It seemed like the right thing to do," Rafferty said. "It sounded like a family that was in need. I read about (the Pagets) and I thought, ‘Man, am I a lucky guy.’"

Rafferty said he donated to the Wells Fargo fund as well.

"I’ve got kids myself and it seemed like a bad place to be," Rafferty said. "If we can ease the pain by a tiny fraction then it seems like the right thing to do."

"If I was in his place," Pacal said. "Just knowing there’s that many people thinking about my situation, it would help me move forward in life. I would have a terrible struggle with it."

Some of the items offered in the PCMR "opportunity" drawing include:

*Round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, donated by an individual with frequent flyer miles

*Burton Elite Snowboard

*Two night stay at Park City Peaks Hotel

*Ski Utah Interconnect Tour for two

*Restaurant Gift Certificates to Bistro 412, Baja Cantina, among others

*Golf packages, including a foursome for golf at Tuhaye,

*Nordica Skis

*Lift tickets

*Home Depot gift card

*Images of Nature photographs

*The Spa Depot

*The Utah Olympic Park bobsled rides and winter gold packages

*A preventative physical donated from Park City Family Health.

To contribute to the Paget family, ask to give money to the Paget Fund at a Wells Fargo Bank. To donate items to the PCMR drawing, call 647-5406.

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