Craig Davidiuk helped put the 100 Mile Nordics and Huncity Mountain Bike Club on the worldwide map.
The 108 Mile resident was passionate about the two clubs, helping to boost their profiles, memberships, and awareness on social media. Over the past three years, while he was on the two boards, Huncity’s membership jumped from 10 people to a couple hundred, while the Nordics saw steady growth.
“I’d have to say from all his efforts in social media, he really gave a boost to the club for membership and making sure people were aware of the club,” said Huncity president Steve Law. “He was invaluable there.”
Davidiuk died Saturday after a short illness. He was 49.
100 Mile Nordics president Kristi Iverson described Davidiuk as “bright light and a ball of energy” who had a vision of what 100 Mile House could become. A former Squamish resident, Davidiuk had watched that town flourish and drew on those experiences when he moved here in 2016.
Long before he joined the Nordics board, he was tossing out ideas. Iverson credited Davidiuk with introducing a new logo, website, clothing line and “all-around new image” for the Nordics. When a fox hanging around the lodge was dubbed “Foxy Moonbeam” by a young skier, Davidiuk created a club mascot. “He did huge things for us, he revamped our whole image,” Iverson said.
Davidiuk was brimming with so many ideas it was hard to keep up. He suggested bike events for adults and kids and a Nordics trail where people could ski with their dogs. Ideas pinged off his brain at lightning speed.
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“He was super over-zealous. He’d have a plan with so much stuff in there. I’d say ‘holy, Craig, that’s insane,’” Law said. “He wanted to do so much. He knew the value of promoting events.”
Davidiuk truly shone, though, when it came to websites and social media. During COVID-19, he created an online system for the Nordics to allow people to buy passes and book equipment. His efforts grew Facebook followers and optimized the Nordics’ search engine so the club wasn’t “buried 20 pages deep” on the web, Iverson said.
“He had a lot of wizardry in the nuts and bolts side of things,” she said. “He would present things to us, stats on the website and on Facebook about how things were going, and we would sit there with our mouths open.”
Law relied on Davidiuk so much he doesn’t even have access to the club’s website. “There will be a big hole for market promotions and social media,” he said. “I’m still shocked by the whole thing.”
Iverson said Davidiuk will “absolutely” be missed, noting he brought “so much energy and fun into things that enlivened our events. He’s helped us to grow in a multitude of ways.
“He put himself out there, his own vulnerability of putting his own ideas out there that not everyone was receptive to,” she said. “I still hope some of the things will come to fruition in the future. The things he’s done, and the ideas he’s had, I hope will continue to resonate, to continue to live on in this community.”
Davidiuk is survived by wife Courtney Driver, son Arlo, father Gordon, parents-in-law Arla and Clay Driver, brother-in-law Shaun Driver and his wife Natalie and son Spencer, and countless friends he considered family.
kelly.sinoski@100milefreepress.net
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