NSAA Convention Honors Moretz, Fairbank

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25 May 2005

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SAM Magazine--Scottsdale, Ariz., May 25, 2005--The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) honored D. Grady Moretz Jr., president of Appalachian Ski Mountain, and Brian H. Fairbank, president, CEO and co-owner of Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, at the annual convention here.

Moretz received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Fairbank earned the Sherman Adams Award, presented annually to an individual from an Eastern ski area who has significantly influenced the industry. The award is named after the former governor of New Hampshire, who was also the founder of Loon Mountain, N.H.

Moretz began his career in 1961 and carries on the area's tradition as a family operated ski area. He took over the management of Appalachian in 1968. In 1986 the Moretz family became the sole owners of Appalachian. Under his tenure the area has grown to include two quad chairlifts (the first in North Carolina). Appalachian was the first area in the Southeast to offer night skiing and to use airless snowmaking. Skier visits have increased from about 12,000, to more than 100,000 annually.

Moretz has been an industry leader. In 1977, he helped form the North Carolina Ski Areas Association; from 1977 to 1981, he served first as vice president and then as president. He chaired the committee that lobbied the legislature for the North Carolina Skier Safety Act, which was enacted in 1981.

Fairbank has been synonymous with Jiminy Peak for nearly as long. He began his association as general manager in 1969, and by 1985, he had become co-owner along with Joe O'Donnell of Boston Culinary Group. Jiminy Peak's vision, crafted by Fairbank and his team in the mid-1980s, is, "to be the finest and most beautiful mountain resort in New England." Annual capital improvements have made Jiminy Peak one of the most respected and complete resorts in New England.

Like Moretz, Fairbank has also been a longtime industry leader. He served as NSAA chairman from 2000 to 2002, the culmination of numerous roles within the organization. He's a lifetime member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA), having served as an examiner from 1971 to 1986 and as a member of the PSIA Demo team in the late 1960s. He has also received a distinguished service award from the National Ski Patrol (NSP).