SAM Magazine-Tahoe City, Calif., Aug. 9, 2007-Jim Kercher is the new General Manager of Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, which was recently purchased by JMA Ventures from Powdr Corp.

A long-time Californian who worked at Alpine Meadows from 1976 until 1990, Kercher has spent the last 17 years at a variety of major resorts, mostly as a ski school and guest services director: ski school director at Mammoth Mountain; director of skier services at Breckenridge, ski and snowboard school director at Jackson Hole, and most recently as ski and snowboard school and guest services director at Beaver Creek.

"Mountains like this don't exist everywhere," said Kercher. "Alpine is a great place with a wonderful history that makes it very special." He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to return to California, and enthusiasm for JMA's vision of top-level customer experience and service at Alpine Meadows. "I remember Alpine Meadows for the warm, quality people who care about each other. That quality is contagious among employees, and is passed on to the guest. Everything revolves around how we care about each other and our visitors," Kercher said.

Since JMA owns both Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain Resort, the company envisions collaboration on various ski and snowboard programs. "There will be a real synergy between the two places," said Kent Hoopingarner, GM of Homewood. "We're excited about that and it's great to have Jim on board."

JMA Ventures manages more than $800 million in existing real-estate projects, spanning office, retail, industrial/telecom, hospitality, leisure and residential development. Current projects include Ghirardelli Square, Rincon Park Restaurants and 706 Mission Street in San Francisco.

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