Jan Haug

The Jan Haug award was named to honor a man who was one of the founders of Ski for Light, and one of its most generous early supporters.

Jan was born in Oslo and moved to the United States as a student. He married an American woman and began a career as a businessman. Years before cross-country skiing became popular in the United States, Jan became the first to import and sell Norwegian-made skis.

Jan was one of the three men who signed Ski for Light's Articles of Incorporation, and was a charter Board Member. Beginning with the 1976 event in Minneapolis, Jan provided all the skis for blind skiers. For a few years the skis were given to all new skiers, and for some years thereafter, ski packages were made available for a minimal cost.

Jan was the first Treasurer of Ski for Light, and when he found that job to be too much, he invited Egil Almaas to take over.

While still a fairly young man, Jan Haug died suddenly of a heart attack and left a big hole in the Ski for Light family. We remember him as a kind and generous man who gave and gave and gave.