AND THE 1999 SAMMY FUTURE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ARE...
This year's SAMMY Future Leadership Award winners: (from left) Tom Fortune, general manager of Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho, Chris Gunnarson, snowboard director at Snow Summit Mountain Resort, Calif., Rory Strunk, president of Resort Sports Network, and David Barry, COO of Copper Mountain, Colo.
1999 Winners
Tom Fortune :: GM - Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho
Tom Fortune began his career at Stevens Pass at the age of 15. Starting in the rental department, Fortune worked his way through retail, base management and director of operations. He is described by his peers as innovative, creative and compassionate, an example of his many initiatives is one called, "It's the People," an employee housing project that created 115 beds. Fortune was promoted to GM at Schweitzer this past winter.
Chris Gunnarson :: Snowboard Director - Snow Summit Mountain
With southern California being the hotbed of snowboard-ing, resorts can't afford to fall behind the curve. According to Snow Summit management, Gunnarson has kept the ski area at the forefront of the market with innovative park designs, advertising and customer relations. Snowboarding now accounts for 60 percent of the resort's business. Gunnarson has also worked on the 1996, 1998 and 1999 ESPN Winter X Games, and the 1998 Summer X Games.
Rory Strunk :: President - Resort Sports Network
Strunk created RSN in 1985 as a way to use technology to bring footage, news, events, travel bookings and snow reports to millions of snowsports enthusiasts through the Internet and cable television. Strunk, according to a co-worker, "is a visionary and seems to believe he is on this earth to provide the best entertainment and information to everyone who has a passion for resort sports."
David Barry :: COO - Copper Mountain, Colo.
Vice President at Copper Mountain, Colorado, an Intrawest-owned resort. Barry joined Intrawest in 1991 at Mont Tremblant and was one of the team members responsible for the rebirth of Tremblant. He also ran the Marketing and Sales, Ticketing and Guest Relations. Barry then moved to Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises in '94/'95 season. While there he ran the Marketing and Sales department and then added Ski & Snowboard School, Guest Relations and Race & Special Events. When Intrawest acquired Copper Mountain Inc., Barry was picked to reposition Copper among the Colorado giants. His edgy and funny marketing campaign has done just that. One of Barry's nominator's describes him as a "breath of fresh air" and someone who brings "energy and excitement to his work."
The SAMMY Finalists...
The 1999 SAMMY winners were chosen from a list of 26 talented finalists. Each nominee came with the highest of recommendations from bosses, co-workers, employees and regional associations. Our four 1999 SAMMY winners are ones to watch and to lead us into the next millennium--as are the following list of 26 finalists:
John Rice, GM, Sierra-at-Tahoe
Vern Greco, GM, Park City
Greg Murtha, Marketing/Sales Dir., Sugar Bowl
Mark Petrozzi, VP Risk Management, Booth Creek
Matt Mosteller, VP Marketing, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
Chris Ellms, GM, Bretton Woods
Becky Zimmerman, Partner, Design Workshop
Skip King, VP Communications, American Skiing Company
John Biondolillo, President, Bolton Valley
Jerry Blann, President, Jackson Hole
Gaston St-Pierre, President, Professeurs de Ski International
Jim Fletcher, Engineer, Kimley-Horn
Carl Swanback, Consultant, Profit Mountain Management
Don McClure, GM, Buch Hill Ski Area
Chip Seamans, GM, Sunday River
Steve Geisz, Director of Recreation & Amenities, Sapphire Valley
Dave Olcott, President, Stimilon
Glen Plake, Ambassador-at-Large
Mariah Smith, Program Administration, NSAA/Ski USA
J. Douglas Irving, Director of Operations, Gunstock
SAMMY AWARDS 
