By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Today’s quiz.
He’s the latest tri-stater to enter a Hall of Fame. Got the answer yet?
It’s a winter sport – and could be team or individual. And he’s the first in the tri-state to earn such an honor.
Give up?
Scott Lubansky was inducted into the Ski Jumping Hall of Fame, Redwing, Minn.
Scott Lubansky has an office at The Point/Arc in Covington.
Scott Lubansky (Photo by Andy Furman/NKyTribune)
“I’m consulting for the Point,” said the native of Duluth, Minn. “I’ve been working with them over 20 years.”
Lubansky has put aside his skis and serves as President/CEO Professional Fund Raising Counsel – and has been raising money for organizations for some 27 years.
But before he was knocking on doors for donations, Lubansky was hooked on ski jumping.
“I had a buddy, believe it or not, in the first grade,” he said. “He and his family did it. I wanted to give it a shot.”
That very first time, Lubansky recalled, “My dad took me. And I went around the jump. Yup, I was afraid. And my dad said: ‘If you want to ski jump, you gotta go off the jump.’” Lubansky remembered.
But after that first jump, Scott Lubansky was hooked.
He says he started jumping off a little hill with a railroad tie; then he moved to 10 meters all the way to a 130-meter jump.
Lubansky was named to the U.S. Development Team in the summer of 1976 and was able to earn spots on the U.S. Team from 1977-1980 competing and training domestically and internationally throughout the U.S., Canada, Austria, France, Switzerland, Finland, and Norway.
He competed in the 1980 Olympic Tryouts, was a U.S. B Team member and participated as a forerunner in the1980 winter Olympic games. He trained with the U.S. Olympic Team in 1982 and ’83 for the 1984 Winter Olympics and retired after the 1984 tryouts.
And he says he learned his fund-raising skills from being a member of the Olympic B Team.
“You would walk into banks, and law firms and ask for donations to become a member of the Olympic Team,” he said.
He started his Fund-Raising Counsel in 1996 and to date has raised over a half-billion dollars for various clients.
At The Point/Arc in Covington, his sales pitch is simple.
“Kenton County, where The Point/Arc is located has a population of some 4.3 million people,” he said. “The Point/Arc is one of the larger businesses in the county. They employ 169 people and have a payroll of some $4.3 million.
“The impact as an employer is tremendous,” he adds, “The Point/Arc pays some $1.2 Million in payroll taxes. When I mention that to a prospective donor, honestly, they’re shocked.”
Scott Lubansky started his Hall of Fame ski jumping career at the tender age of six – but really, he was prepping for his real career. Helping various businesses raise funds.
And he’s a proven Hall of Famer at that as well.
The Point/Arc was founded in 1972 by a group of parents fighting for the educational rights of their children, who were diagnosed with an intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disability. The mission – to help people with disabilities achieve their highest potential educationally, socially, residentially and vocationally. More than this, The Point/Arc has been an organization that identifies gaps in services and provides care and support to fill these gaps – even when government funding sources are not available.
The Point/Arc
