A year after graduating from Vermont Academy, Rick Moulton’s sense of adventure took him down the Mississippi River on a raft with a friend. The re-enactment of Huck Finn’s voyage was an indication that Rick was not going to march to the same drum as everyone else. His passion for the outdoors and recreation combined with a hobby of making movies, propelled Rick to pursue a career as an independent filmmaker. He learned his trade as an undergraduate at Denver University and time spent at the London Film School.

Assisted by his wife, Melinda, they produced and directed projects for the National Public Broadcasting System and Vermont Public Television. Projects included Vermont Memories, for which VPT received an Emmy Award, and Legends of American Skiing which won the Banff Film Festival. Thrills and Spills, a 1997 PBS documentary, featured Warren Chivers. Vermont Memories II featured Warren as well as Vermont Academy. In addition, Rick has produced educational programming for children on PBS. A love for skiing and a desire to document the history of the sport has made Rick an internationally known ski historian. He has produced films for Sun Valley, Aspen, Killington, and Ski Magazine, to name a few. He serves on the board of several ski industry nonprofits. Rick’s work has touched the healthcare industry, politics and the print media.

With a desire to serve the nonprofit world, Rick’s talents also served C.A.R.E, the Jimmy Fund, Cornell University, the New York City Library, and the Orton Foundation, among others. A love for the land and a desire to preserve the landscape of Vermont for future generations moved Rick into civic involvement. Rick has served the town of Huntington, Vermont as selectman. Concerned about urban sprawl, he joined the Rural Planning Organization, Chittenden County’s Regional Planning Commission, and is on the board of directors for the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Chittenden County.

His concern for conservation led to an appointment on the Governor’s Rail Commission, and he serves on the Vermont Rail Advocacy Network and he was a founding member of the Mad River Glen Ski Co-op. Rick is the coordinator of Rail Day in Essex Junction, and serves on the board of directors for the New England Ski Museum, the International Ski History Association and the Amateur Ski Club of New York. It is this respect for nature, open spaces and service to the greater community that completes the picture of who Rick Moulton is.

– Awarded in 2005