READFIELD — The late Marlee Johnston loved to laugh, smile and ski.

In a fitting tribute to her vibrant personality and love of skiing, the 11th annual Marlee Johnston Memorial Ski Race takes place at the Joanne and Dick O’Connor Alpine Training Center in Kents Hill on Saturday, Jan. 9. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and costs $15, and the racing gets underway at 10 a.m.

Johnston was an eighth-grade student when she was killed by her Fayette neighbor, Patrick Armstrong, in November 2005. The race, and the Marlee Fund which bears her name, began in her memory. Both have grown ever since.

Kents Hill School is making snow at the alpine center and will do so as needed to ensure good racing conditions.

In addition to benefiting the Marlee Ski Club at Kents Hill School, which works with middle school-aged children to teach Alpine skiing and potentially future racers, the Marlee Fund provides Kents Hill School scholarships to local area day students that could not otherwise afford to go. It provides scholarships to Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, and for the last three years a total of 25 scholarships to the Julia Clukey Summer Camp for Girls at Camp KV, all for children from the area.

bmatulaitis@sunmediagroup.net