SAM Magazine—Lake Placid, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2026—Ski Areas of New York (SKI NY) and the Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Association (PORA) joined forces once again to hold the annual SKI NY–PORA Expo, this time in Lake Placid where 357 ski area personnel, suppliers, experts, and speakers gathered for education and networking, Sept. 21-23.
Several optional activities were offered on arrival day, such as an exploration of the Olympic Legacy Sites and a golf tournament, and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) held a Lift Safety Bootcamp and other educational offerings at host resort Whiteface ahead of the evening’s trade show.
Tuesday morning began with longtime New York State Passenger Tramway Advisory Council member Jim Ruhl being inducted into the SKI NY Hall of Fame. Ruhl was recognized for his dedication to the council, which he was part of and led for more than 40 years, and for helping the state’s ski areas.
Keynote speaker Kelly Brush, founder of the Kelly Brush Foundation, was recognized with the Ronald B. Stafford Safety in Skiing Award before sharing the story of the spinal cord injury she sustained while ski racing and how that led her to start the foundation that supports ski racing safety and adaptive athletes, among many other things.
NSAA president and CEO Mike Reitzell also took the stage to share the state of the industry, focusing primarily on participation growth and safety. The audience was well engaged for the morning’s programming.
“The vibe here in New York has been great,” Reitzell told SAM. “You can just tell the people here want to be here. They want to learn, and they understand the importance and value of it.”
The Olympic Center venue added to the energy, too. “I think it makes everyone feel this is a great place to come, learn, and share with each other,” he said.
There was plenty of learning and sharing on Tuesday, which included a bulk of the 27 educational sessions at the expo and two trade show gatherings.
Artificial intelligence was covered in multiple sessions, where its use in marketing and operations was discussed. Technical workshops about operations included “Advanced Ski Lift Math” led by NSAA’s Mike Lane and “Snowmaking Math and Numbers” led by Tim Wang of Ratnik Industries. There were also multiple sessions on participation growth and workforce issues, which are always hot topics for ski area operators and the industry at large.
“The most challenging thing in putting together a successful show is the educational content,” said SKI NY president Scott Brandi. “It’s making sure you’re providing value and relevant education. I think that’s the heart and soul of a good show. But I think we’ve hit it this year.”
Brandi added that planning for next year’s expo was to begin soon. “Once we’re done with this show, we’ll start cultivating for next year almost right away, throughout the winter.”
“There is nothing more valuable than the education, networking and energy that comes from attending the SANY-PORA Expo,” said Lori Phillips, PORA board president and Ski Big Bear GM. “We are proud to collaborate with the team from Ski Areas of New York and always encourage ski areas from Pennsylvania to attend. It is a great show for our region, and we appreciate the efforts to make topics relevant to ski areas that operate in Pennsylvania.”
The various NSAA Fall Education Seminars were also part of the agenda, led by NSAA’s Dave Byrd and MountainGuard’s Ryan Lavoie, who covered pertinent risk management and legal issues. Lane led several courses on different topics involving ropeways.
Other sessions included a chat between Entabeni CEO Erik Mogensen and Storm Skiing Journal’s Stuart Winchester, who discussed Mogensen’s origin story and how he came to become owner of Black Mountain, N.H. Snow Partners chief of staff Hugh Reynolds led a panel discussion about the intersection of marketing and risk management that included Whiteface marketing and sales manager Lauren Garfield and Mountain Creek, N.J., marketing director Jackie Cerra.
The 2027 SKI NY–PORA Expo will be held Sept. 20-22 at a location to be announced.
