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INDUSTRY EVENTS NSAA 2009 EASTERN TRADE SHOW AND CONFERENCE From January 13-14, 2009, the ski industry in the East braved bitter temperatures to gather at the NSAA Eastern Trade Show and Conference at Mount Snow, Vt. In all, 202 ski area attendees representing 47 resorts visited with 107 suppliers. While numbers were down from last year, many put the blame on the cold temps and the fact that many resorts stayed home to take advantage of the optimal snowmaking conditions before the big MLK weekend. Still, the mood was upbeat as resorts reported solid numbers so far on the year thanks to Mother Nature.Here are some photos and a recap of several of the educational sessions: Developing and Managing an Energy Savings Program Presenter: Philip Jones, EMS Environmental This session was timely given rising energy costs, which are second only to personnel costs at ski areas. By conducting an overall analysis of your area you can find ways to cut costs, be it snowmaking, motors, lighting, HVAC. It's important to get all staff involved, so they have a vested interest in reducing overall energy costs and their environmental footprint. It's also important to remember that everyone is going green....including your competitors. By identifying opportunities for waste reduction, coupled with energy use analysis, this could make your operation more green and save money at the same time. Crisis Management in the Age of Twitter Presenter: Skip King, Reputation Strategies This session examined the rise of social media and how it has come to influence the delivery of news and information. Today, it's more important than ever to say it right. Have a PR action plan in place and revise it at least once a year. This is particularly important in the age of twitter, when you should consider every guest at your area a journalist. National Ski Patrol NSP Executive Director, Tim White, spoke to the group of patrol leaders from around New England about the many challenges facing them today. “NSP is getting back on track after a rough 18 months,” White said. The biggest change will be a total overhaul of their technology, which is very dated. John Hammond of Sugarbush spoke about a program he set up for his patrollers whereby eight mantras were created and some even carry around a card listing them. Some of those mantras include: Know Your Stuff; Share and Declare your Vision; Integrity; Show Uncommon Commitment; Expect Positive Results; Put Duty Before Self. White also reminded everyone about the Patroller Education Conference (PEC '09) April 15-17 at Snowbird in Utah. Employment Law Change. What the New Administration and Congress Envision for Employers and Employees. The industry can expect many changes in employment and labor law with the Obama administration and the large democratic majorities in the house and senate. In this session, employment and labor law attorney, Jack Merinar (partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLC) discussed the top 13 changes most likely to happen. For excample, under the Employee Free Choice Act we will likely see the loss of the secret ballot, which reverses a 75-year history for this labor law. It also means resorts may have compressed timeframes to deal with elections, making arbitration a big problem. Increased fines and penalities will be instituted and, in general, outcomes will lean toward pro-labor enforcement. Another law to be on the look out for is the Respect Act ,which essentially moves more resort staff, especially some of your supervisors, to potential card signers during elections, which could give unions more power. Merinar recommends getting your first-line supervisors informed about your stance on unions now. Another act in the pipeline is the Healthy Families Act. This act requires employers of 15 or more employees to give seven paid sick days per year to those working 30 or more hours per week (prorated for those working 20-30 hours per week). Bottom line here is that this will create a large administrative burden to meet the requirements under the act, such as employers having to keep track of leave on an hourly basis. Also under this act, absence can be for the care of any person so close to the employee that the relationship is equivalent to a family relationship. Keep a look out for SAM’s coverage of the changes to employment law in upcoming issues. B-77 Update Presenter: Sid Roslund and Jon Mauch The B-77 codes get updated every five years or so and the last one was in 2006. For 2011, the committee is just looking at a supplement since most of the major technological issues in lifts were addressed in 2006. What will be addressed in the next go around is: outward chair swing, tubing operator positioning and loading conveyors, which the moderators said were the next big thing in lifts. An interesting subject for the future is the fact that as Americans continue to get larger, design capacities may need a new look. For now, though, we are on target. Credit Card Fraud Presenter: Allan Trosclair This informative session covered the many ways to avoid credit card theft and fraud. So far, two ski areas in the East have fallen victim to credit card theft—their databases were hacked and credit card numbers stolen. So, the threat is real. To avoid this, Trosclair urged areas to keep a customer’s credit card and other pertinent information at a separate location away from the main network. He also told areas not to store security codes. Should your company be breached, the expert said to unplug the machine—do not power it down because the settings will change. Preserve all logs and electronic evidence and log all actions taken. When it comes to people passing off bad cards at your area, Trosclair said that as long as you obtain authorization, generate a transaction receipt with imprint and have a signature or pin, you are covered.
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EVENTS WRAPUP 
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