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March 2008

Recruit of the Year :: 2008

SAM announces the winners of the second annual Recruit of the Year contest.

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Following are the top three picks in SAM’s second annual Recruit Contest. All of the entries were judged by NSAA president Michael Berry; Tim Boyd, president of Peak Resorts; Bill Jensen, soon-to-be CEO of Intrawest; Bill Rock, GM at Snowshoe; and the SAM staff. Our lucky winner, Erica Kelleher, receives airfare from SAM to attend the NSAA National Trade Show and Convention in San Francisco this May, and NSAA has generously donated lodging and registration. In addition, the first and second place winners received full gear packages from Elan and Flow.

So what were entrants asked? Two questions: 1) What are the two most important sustainable green practices that would yield the greatest energy efficiency for a ski resort and why? And, how would you most effectively communicate your resorts’ environmentally forward practices to guests and potential customers? 2) You have a bottomless budget and endless resources to get one big idea off the ground. Your idea can be about customer retention or attraction, snowmaking, environment, planning, etc. What would you propose, why, and how would you implement it?


#1. Erica Kelleher
Age: 20
Hometown: Cromwell, Connecticut
Local Mountain: Okemo Resort, VT
Skier/boarder: Skier
School: Lyndon State College

Top Green Practices
Green BUS
A bio-diesel bus service would help promote both environmental and economic sustainability. Through making skiing and riding more accessible, ski areas can help contribute positively to both the environment and their own financial success. First, areas that do not currently provide resort transportation can begin with bio-diesel bus services around their resort community. Then, after initial implementation, areas that feel they would best serve their clientele can begin running shuttle services from greater distances in order to attract skiers and riders to promote environmental sustainability on a more global scale.

Recycling to Reduce Waste
Recycling encompasses many endeavors that ski areas can pursue in order to become “green.” By starting a recycling initiative through small-scaled endeavors and working their way up to larger sustainability programs, resorts can improve efficiency and reduce waste.

Bottomless Budget
I believe skiing must be an integral part of every child’s education. Besides promoting physical activity early in a child’s life, especially in a nation facing severe childhood obesity, skiing can help improve children’s confidence, social skills, and quality of life. I would develop a funding program for school children to be introduced to skiing and snowboarding as part of their school’s physical education program. This way, all of America’s youth will be provided the opportunity to learn to ski or snowboard, regardless of their financial status or geographic location. This will provide an opportunity for everyone to enter the snowsports industry which will, in turn, enable growth for ski areas.



#2. brent malysh
Age: 25
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Local mountain: Apex Mountain
Skier/Boarder: Skier
School: Selkirk College

Top Green Practices
Resorts with night skiing should be looking into the amount of energy used to light ski runs; the lights are either on or off, regardless of how dark it is. Some cities are installing dimmers on street lights, which register the amount of natural light and slowly increase the amount of light being produced as the night sky darkens. Additionally, some Canadian cities are toying with dimming street lights by 30 to 40 percent to reduce the amount of electricity used. These options should also be explored in the resort setting. Again, installing dimmers would involve a capital investment, but would yield both energy and monetary savings in the long run.

Bottomless Budget
I would like to start an “adopt-a-resort” program for employees. The basic idea is that large destination resorts would “adopt” regional or feeder/breeder resorts around the continent. Think of the destination resort as a professional sports team and the small ski area as the farm team. The farm team is where the player develops the skills needed to break into “the big-time.” At the small resort, employees could easily gain skills in a number of different departments and provide the destination resort with the opportunity to identify early on who has the potential to become the future leaders of the resort.



#3. jeremy oclatis
Age: 21
Hometown: Rhinebeck, New York
Local Mountain: Stowe, VT
Skier/Boarder: Skier
School: University of Vermont

Top Green Practices
Reducing transportation to and from resorts is a concept that any resort can participate in and involves the guests more than any other form of sustainable practice. It is also the easiest and most diverse form of reducing pollution and consumption for resorts because there are so many options. It gives incentives for guests to travel in carpools, by hybrid vehicle, or by public transportation.
The idea could include reduced lift ticket prices, reserved parking, or free transportation. Someone who gets a free ride to the mountain or a reduced lift ticket is more likely to spend more money at that resort.

Bottomless Budget
An idea to incorporate a resort’s environmental stand and terrain parks would be to construct a terrain park solely from recycled materials, a “green park.” The park would have only features that are made from recycled materials or features like staircases, oil drums and plastic tubing that would otherwise be thrown away. In promoting this terrain park, my resort would receive publicity for sustainable practices, young skiers and riders would have a new and unique park, and people who would not usually be concerned with terrain parks could appreciate their impact.



The Judges Speak

Tim Boyd:
Brent’s idea on the destination/feeder ski areas is not only insightful but represents the kind of “outside the box” thinking the ski industry is going to need in the future. Jeremy’s understanding of the impact the park scene is going to have on the industry also represents some good forward type thinking. . .both of these two really demonstrated some sophisticated analysis of our industry.


Bill Jensen:
It is encouraging to see this level of thought and potential developing with a passion and commitment to the industry.

Erica Kelleher. Successful suggestions for building achieveable objectives in her green essay. Her recognition of the importance of community school programs to grow the sport is a key strategy that the industry often overlooks.

Brent Malysh. Energy savings is the low hanging environmental fruit for ski resorts (and it enjoys a bottom line benefit). His “adopt-a-resort” program, often bantered about the industry, is well laid out and practical.


Bill Rock:
Brent Malysh. His “adopt-a-resort” program is well thought out and an interesting opportunity for our industry. His work ethic, experience and obvious leadership abilities will serve him well as he strives to reach his goals.
Erica Kelleher. Her “big idea” demonstrates good insight into the challenges facing our industry and offers a creative solution. Her long career in ski school combined with her commitment to the industry make her an ideal recruit.

Jeremy Oclatis. Jeremy demonstrates that he has the ability to spot an opportunity, develop a solution and effectively communicate it to gain support. This is a critical skill set for emerging leaders in our resorts.


Michael Berry:­
Again this year, there is a strong pool of recruits for areas to choose from. My top picks are Erica and Jeremy. Both demonstrate a good understanding of why resorts need to address environmental concerns and both have come up with interesting ways for ski areas to do that while making the customers feel good about their experiences. Their “big idea” thinking also reflects a strong grasp of the issues that face our industry, especially on the topic of getting more youth into our sport. They both understand that sustainability is not only environmental, but economic.