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INDUSTRY EVENTS NSAA WESTERN TRADE SHOW & CONFERENCE 2010 From January 19 to 21, 355 industry personnel representing 66 ski areas gathered at Steamboat Springs, Colo., for the NSAA Western Trade Show and Conference. With 120 exhibiting companies, there was plenty to look at on the trade show floor. Out on the hill, grooming operators and snowmakers had the opportunity to see some impressive machinery in action. Below are some photos of the event and a few overviews of the informative sessions held throughout the conference. Workplace Violence—Understanding the Warning Signs. Dr. John Nicoletti While a rarity in snowsports recreation, workplace violence is not something to be ignored, as witnessed by the unfortunate homicide of Eldora’s mountain manager last year. The good news is that it can be prevented by knowing the signs. As Nicoletti pointed out, “They always tell you ahead of time.” The development of an avenger starts with a perceived injustice, then moves to feeling victimized. From there, the avenger externalizes any responsibility, develops a grudge, starts to become obsessed with avenging and, finally, acts on it. Nicoletti said that there are many points where the situation can be nipped in the bud, but there needs to be good company-wide communication and procedures. Too often, people do not report bad behavior because they are afraid of setting the person off, or that they might be profiling. To that Nicoletti said, “As long as they are suing you, they are not shooting you.” The Triple Bottom Line: Developing a Sustainable Business Model for Stakeholders. Mark Gasta, Senior VP Vail Resorts This informative session delved into getting employees engaged on the job because companies with high levels of engagement have an 83 percent chance of high performance. Gasta suggested that to have an engaged staff, a ski area first needs to hire passionate people. From there, encourage employees to innovate and go out and find the influencers on your staff and make them agents of change. Often, employees will listen better to someone at their level, rather than to missives from the top. From employee engagement, Gasta outlined his philosophy for a successful business: You can align employees with customers with shareholders with communities with the environment, while still being profitable. “You can do well AND do good,” he concluded. Social Media 2.0: The Next Generation Krista Parry of Park City Mountain Resort led this session, joined by Mark Roebke of RTP, with a guest appearance from David Amirault of Freeskier.com via Skype. "Social media is a conversation," Parry declared, and outlined a four-step program for making this conversation pay off: know your audience and their media; know what you want to achieve; know that your relationships with customers are changing; and then, decide which technologies to use. In short: listen, learn, then plan. She advised resorts to both get comfortable with user-generated content and to monitor it rigorously, wherever it appears--such as tripadvisor.com, where disgruntled guests often go to complain. Roebke showed off RTP's iPhone app, which uses "augmented reality" to guide and inform users. While viewing their surroundings on the iPhone screen, almost as if looking through a window, directions to trails, lifts, restaurants, and other useful information appear onscreen. As the user pans the area, new information appears, showing the location of facilities available in the direction the camera-phone is pointed. Amirault appeared to relate success stories in using a variety of media to drive resort visits, including Copper Mountain's "Everyone Deserves a Snow Day" promotion (www.yoursnowday.com for details).
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EVENTS WRAPUP 
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