February 19, 2020
Dear zone presidents and division presidents,
I am happy to announce, on behalf of the CSP President and CEO, that the CSP National Board of Directors gave its approval to partner with Helly Hansen in a comprehensive 3-year partnership that includes uniform jackets, pants, vests and a wide variety of clothing, plus support for promoting the CSP brand through Helly Hansen’s retail and digital marketing channels and various activations jointly involving CSP and HH. Details about the CSP/HH partnership will be released over the next couple of months as we work with HH on a formal announcement.
I requested to HH that there be an opportunity to test the product that will be provided to our members and they have agreed to allow a limited uniform test program in zones across the country.
We have chosen to test the product with members of the Pro Deal Partners team and select members of the Communications and Marketing portfolio . This is a similar approach we have taken in the past to test products. Ten CSP members were identified to participate in the program and each members has several pieces of Helly Hansen outerwear on loan to the CSP. The goal of the test is to identify which pieces from Helly Hansen’s extensive line-up of resort outerwear best fit the needs of the CSP membership. The test team is made up of ten regular member patrollers from across the country:
Michael Hewett – Kawartha Zone – Lakeridge Resort
Stacey Hewett – Kawartha Zone – Lakeridge Resort
Diane Lemay – Confederation Zone – Brookvale Provincial Ski Park
Greg McCormick – Confederation Zone – Brookvale Provincial Ski Park
Shayne MacAulay – Gatineau Zone – Ski Vorlage
Scott Lacey – Western Zone – Chicopee Ski Club
Nigel McCreary – Calgary Zone – Nakiska Ski Area
Geoff Scotton – Calgary Zone – Nakiska Ski Area
Mark Crone – Kawartha Zone – Skyloft Ski Resort
Benoit Murray – Gatineau Zone – Sommet Edelweiss
Operationally, the uniform components are very similar to what we are using now. Each member has been supplied with a pair of black pants, a patrol vest, and anywhere from one to three solid red patrol jackets of various styles and insulation levels. The jackets are crested with white crosses on the sleeves, breast and back of the jacket. One team member has received a crested black jacket to suit the approved area-specific uniform that they current wear.
The only obvious difference is that the standard CSP 4”x 4” name badge was substituted for the smaller sublimated name badge, typically worn on area-specific uniforms. As these samples are the property of Helly Hansen, we could not modify them to accept the larger name badge. Helly Hansen supplies each jacket and vest with a hook and loop receiver (Velcro) that is the same size as the sublimated name badge, so we elected to go with that route. The test team has been supplied with two badges, one for the vest and the other for the jacket, and should receive them this coming week.
The team members will be open about their role in testing the uniform, and they have all indicated they are willing to let their fellow members try the garments on if they wish. I would invite you to contact them and take the opportunity to check out the samples.
As previously stated, the garments are visually similar to our current Avalanche uniform jacket, thus the impact should be minimal. I hope that you will support our efforts and inform your patrol leaders of this important initiative so that we may begin testing in the coming week. Should you have any questions, please contact me directly by email.
Best,
Greg McCormick
VP Communications and Marketing’
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