Changing of the Guard

At the recent gathering of Ski NH operators, Michael Berry reminded his audience, as he did at the National Convention as well, that 58 percent of GMs in our industry are well over 50. How long do these ladies and gents plan to ride the weather coaster at their resort before they retire, and take their collective 3,000 years of experience with them? It’s a daunting thought.

The next decade will clearly see a lot of change at the top. If you are at all curious about who will lead the industry into the future, take a few minutes to check out this year’s “10 under 30” (p. 36). Look hard at the list, and move over—because these are some of the folks who are coming for your job. And that is a good thing.

Consider some of our past under-30 profilees and the paths they have taken. Tim Smith, who was on the 2009 list, was ops manager at Crotched Mountain, N.H. He is now GM at Waterville Valley Resort, N.H. Or the case of Jay Scambio, another alumnus of the 2009 group. He was then in charge of terrain parks for Boyne. He has since become director of mountain sport development for the company. And remark upon the rise of John Kelly (10 under 30, 2010), who was manager of ticket checking at Telluride. He is now director of operations at Taos, N.M. And then there’s Halley O’Brien (class of 2011) who was media manager for Mountain Creek. This year she is—well, everywhere in the media, which earned her a 2016 SAMMY Award.

As we report on the young guns ready to take the reigns, though, we thought it would be wise to learn some lessons from those who have long been at the top. To that end, we embark in this issue on the first of a three-part series called Lessons From the Top (p. 40). We paired operators by region for a fun and informative look back at what and who influenced them the most in their careers. Bob Roberts and Rusty Gregory kick off our first in the series, and their observations are as enlightening as they are entertaining.

One asset that both the young and the not-so-young point out is the value of mentors. All can point to one (or more) key influencer in their careers. That’s a valuable takeaway for all of us: take the time to share your knowledge and experience with the next generation of leaders. Let them know you are only a phone call (or text) away.

Want to celebrate your mentor(s)? To share your story with the industry, email olivia@saminfo.com.

Speaking of celebrating, we at SAM hope you had a blowout Fourth of July holiday, whether you were working it, sitting on the beach, or launching fireworks (legal or otherwise).