Paul Wylie is the new Director of Sport for ORDA in Lake Placid, NY

[Sylvia]

According to this local article promoting the 12/30/19 Lake Placid Stars on Ice show, Paul Wylie became the new Director of Sport for the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) in Lake Placid, New York, on October 15:

Stars On Ice

LAKE PLACID– There’s snow place like the ice skating rink, especially if you’re a performer with Stars on Ice.

www.pressrepublican.com

More on Wylie's new job in this November 15, 2019 article:

UP CLOSE: Wylie returns to town - LakePlacidNews.com | News and information on the Lake Placid and Essex County region of New York - Lake Placid News

LAKE PLACID — The first time figure skater Paul Wylie set foot in Lake Placid, he was at the cusp of becoming a teenager and already well into his...

www.lakeplacidnews.com

The opportunity that would make 55-year-old Wylie a Lake Placid resident came through Michael Pratt, the CEO of ORDA.
Pratt, in a conversation with Wylie, mentioned that ORDA would be posting a new position: director of sport. It's a job that would put him in the middle of everything, acting as a point person between local, state and national organizations and every ORDA-managed facility.
"I applied for it and got the job. I'm thrilled," Wylie said.
It's been a whirlwind since then, he said. Wylie started at ORDA on Oct. 15 and is in the process of moving his family - his wife Kate and their three children - here from Charlotte, North Carolina.
"It's an adjustment," he said.

 

[PRlady]

So that’s why I bumped into him there!

 

[Sylvia]

So that’s why I bumped into him there!

He also is listed on the coaching staff there (IIRC, he was involved in a seminar around the time of the Lake Placid JGP) while he was still based in North Carolina.

 

[paskatefan]

Wow! All the best to Paul!

 

[skatesindreams]

Many congratulations to Paul!

 

[snoopysnake]

Thrilled for Paul! I hope he and his family enjoy their new home! I know he'll be great at his new job!

 

[Lacey]

How wonderful for Paul, I am sure he is very happy to have this position and location, all surrounding skating.

 

[Garden Kitty]

Good for him. It sounds like a great opportunity

 

[BaileyCatts]

How old are his 3 kids by now? I remember him skating with his kids in those Family skating shows from years ago, but don't even remember how old they were then.

 

[Debbie S]

How old are his 3 kids by now? I remember him skating with his kids in those Family skating shows from years ago, but don't even remember how old they were then.

I think the oldest is 15 or 16 (around the same age as Kristi's oldest). I think there's about a 2-3 year age difference between them.

 

[Sylvia]

BTW, @aftershocks found and posted this link (in the U.S Men's thread earlier this year) to a 30-minute talk Paul Wylie gave at a conference (uploaded June 15, 2018):

From Pathetic to Podium - Paul Wylie

Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie shared his inspiring story of resilience and challenged us all to know our purpose in life.

www.youtube.com

 

[Sylvia]

Click on the "Time to learn about Olympic Silver Medalist Paul Wylie" video segment to hear him talk about his new job at ORDA in Lake Placid on this local morning show earlier this month:

‘STARS ON ICE’ coming to Lake Placid’s Olympic Center on December 30

Canada’s Kurt Browning headlines the Emmy Award-Winning production of ‘Stars on Ice’ when it returns to Lake Placid’s Olympic Center, Monday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. Joining Browning will be…

www.mychamplainvalley.com

 

[aftershocks]

Congrats to Paul! And much continued success in all of his endeavors!

@Sylvia, that link no longer works for viewing the video interview with Paul. I also did a search on the site and could not locate the video.

 

[Sylvia]

@aftershocks, both mychamplainvalley.com morning bews segments still play for me... try a different browser?

Great to see Paul is already utilizing his skating world connections for good in Lake Placid :

Scott Hamilton returns with new event at oval this February

LAKE PLACID — An Olympic figure skater is set to land in Lake Placid next month to host a benefit for the local hospital. Scott Hamilton, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, will headline the Frozen 5K on Feb. 18 at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. The...

www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

Scott Hamilton, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, will headline the Frozen 5K on Feb. 18 at the Olympic Speedskating Oval.
The proceeds from the Frozen 5K will benefit Hamilton’s nonprofit organization, Scott Hamilton CARES, and the Adirondack Health Merrill Center for Oncology in Saranac Lake, according to Adirondack Health Foundation Executive Director Hannah Hanford. The portion that benefits Adirondack Health will help cancer patients with travel expenses.
The online fundraiser at mysk8.org/LakePlacidNY2020 has a goal of $10,000.
Olympic figure skater Paul Wylie, the new director of sport for the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, announced Hamilton’s pending arrival to cheers from the crowd at the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena Monday during the Emmy Award-winning figure skating show Stars on Ice.

ETA link to a few photos from the Lake Placid SOI show on 12/30/19:

Stars light up the ice

LAKE PLACID — Figure skating royalty was on hand Monday for Stars on Ice at the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s 1980 Herb Brooks Arena.

www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

I've also posted about the Lake Placid SOI show here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...eading-pa-on-dec-28-2019.106274/#post-5718257

 

[Sylvia]

Stars on Ice Lake Placid review article by Christie Sausa:

Stars align for Lake Placid performance

LAKE PLACID — “I feel back at home.” That’s how Kurt Browning described his return to Lake Placid for a special holiday performance of Stars on Ice on Monday at the Olympic Center. For the three-time Olympian, four-time world champion and four-time Canadian national champion who was a Stars on...

www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

Relevant excerpt:

As if the show was not exciting enough, new ORDA Director of Sport Paul Wylie addressed the crowd during the intermission, bringing to mind the days of Scott Hamilton’s emceeing at Stars on Ice. Wylie spoke about two new Lake Placid skating initiatives: the 40th Anniversary Ice Show Celebration and the Skate to Elimin8 Cancer fundraising event on the Olympic Oval, which both take place on Feb. 18.
“We would like to invite you back for the 40th anniversary of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, which happened right here, and we are going to invite back the entire United States figure skating team for a very special Gala,” said Wylie.
About the fundraiser, he explained, “It’s going to be fun, it’s a frozen 5K, and it’s about 10 laps around the oval. It’s really going to be good for you, it’s going to be good for the community and you’re going to get to see Scott Hamilton on the ice again here in Lake Placid.”
Browning popped up at one point during the address to greet Wylie, and was happy to see his old cast-mate living and working in Lake Placid.
“Paul works here now, so I’m looking forward to having a drink with him tonight just to tell stories and reminisce,” Browning said.

 

[DreamSkates]

Awesome opportunity for Wylie!

 

[Frau Muller]

Paul Wylie has always struck me as a very intelligent human being..not just a great athlete and sensitive artist. Wishing him well in his new job!
- from a fan watching him live since his jr days...doing pairs with Dana Graham...now that’s going back.

 

[goldberry99]

Paul Wylie has always struck me as a very intelligent human being..not just a great athlete and sensitive artist. Wishing him well in his new job!
- from a fan watching him live since his jr days...doing pairs with Dana Graham...now that’s going back.

Yep, I remember seeing lots of fluff about him in the 90s going to Harvard while competing. As Debi Thomas and Nathan Chen will confirm, that isn’t easy!

 

[Sylvia]

Local news report in which Wylie promotes the 40th Anniversary of the Lake Placid Olympics and the planned activities on Feb. 18th, including the Figure Skating Gala and Dinner show at the Herb Brooks Arena:

1980 Olympic figure skating team to return to Herb Brooks Arena

Part of 40th anniversary celebration of 1980 Olympic Games

www.mynbc5.com

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, and Ryan Bradley currently are scheduled to appear/perform in the show:

Dream On, 40th Anniversary Skating Gala | Feb 18 - Lake Placid Olympic Sites

Members of the 1980 Olympic Figure Skating Team return to the Lake Placid Olympic Center to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the XIII Olympic Winter Games on Tuesday, February 18.

www.whiteface.com

 

[Sylvia]

Paul Wylie is live now with Pj Kwong (eta that the 54-minute replay video is up now): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8dGuCqsqXE

 

[jennysk8oboe]

Thanks, Sylvia! I enjoyed that.

 

[Wyliefan]

Thanks for the alert, @Sylvia! Loved that!

 

[Sylvia]

2 Adirondack Daily Enterprise articles from March 2021 relevant to this thread:

Olympic upbringing: New program introduces Lake Placid students to their hometown’s winter sports specialties

LAKE PLACID — As the “Winter Sports Capital of the World,” Lake Placid has offered generations of locals the chance to experience outdoor activities like skiing, skating and sliding. Many people who have been afforded those opportunities growing up here have gone on to become Olympians, while...

www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

The program is called JAGS, which stands for Jump, Aim, Glide and Slide. It’s joint effort between the Lake Placid Central School District and the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, which runs the Olympic winter sports venues. It gives sixth- and seventh-graders a chance to try out different winter sports at the venues where the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics took place.
Paul Wylie, a 1992 Winter Olympic silver medalist in figure skating and ORDA’s director of sport, came up with the plan more than a year ago to introduce youngsters to the different sports. The school formed a committee last season to see how to implement the plan, and it became a reality this winter.

Olympic Center overhaul begins

LAKE PLACID — This week major construction projects began on several of the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s historic ice rinks, refrigeration system and amenities. It is all expected to be finished by 2022, before the Winter World University Games come to town in January 2023. This is the latest in...

www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

Excerpts:

This week major construction projects began on several of the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s historic ice rinks, refrigeration system and amenities. It is all expected to be finished by 2022, before the Winter World University Games come to town in January 2023.
...
ORDA spokesperson Elise Ruocco said many of these venues, including the Olympic Center, have become outdated since they hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The crux of the current renovation is a “major revitalization” to the 1980 and 1932 Olympic rinks, as well as the refrigeration plant that keeps them and the Olympic Speedskating Oval frozen. Ruocco estimated this construction will take around nine months.
These two rink renovations will cost around $22.8 million, she said. The refrigeration system replacement is expected to cost another $11.7 million, for a total of $34.5 million. After that, ORDA’s plans call for an overhaul of the outdoor oval and the part of the Olympic Center linking the 1980 and 1932 arenas.

The USA Rink will be open throughout the construction project, so ice time will still be available.
Ruocco said the hockey locker rooms, concession stands and general concourse area of 1980 arena will be renovated. All public restrooms will be replaced, arena seats that haven’t been replaced already will be replaced, and ADA-compliant seating will be added. All heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the 1980 rink will be replaced.
Both rinks were recently retrofitted with new boards that can be adjusted to either international or National Hockey League regulation width. Also, the 1980 rink’s lighting system was recently upgraded to the level now expected for television broadcasts.

The 1932 rink will be finished by Nov. 1, the 1980 rink near Christmas, and the new refrigeration before the new year, according to ORDA.
“The refrigeration plant replacement will be the first major renovation to the refrigeration system since it was originally built for the 1980 Olympics,” Ruocco wrote in an email. “The new system will have approximately 25% more cooling capacity while being more energy efficient overall.”