Just about 20 years ago a group of ski area operators met at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, invited to meet there by the president of National Ski Association (later to become the U.S. Ski Association). It was the beginning of National Ski Areas Association, and that is what we celebrate here.
What follows is not the official history of NSAA; it is not even a history. Rather, it is a sort of personal recollection of the first few years; it is about the directions set by and for the association. The relevance today is that as our industry copes with the new and bigger opportunities—and problems—of the ’80s it is worth remembering that what bothered area operators in the ’60s is what bothers today’s operators. The scale and complexity may differ—and in most, but by no means all of the cases, the cast of characters is different—but fundamentally they are the same.
Insurance rates… accidents and litigation… government regulation and intrusion… stimulating growth in the market… Forest Service relations…
In fact, when founding president Dave Judson was invited to attend an NSAA Board meeting earlier this year, he came away from it feeling he had been sealed in a time capsule. He felt right at home with much of the discussion on just the same things that had preoccupied the Board during his three years as president.
So, for my justification for looking backward at the early days of NSAA I cite the Santayana admonition about being destined to repeat the mistakes of the past if we fail to understand the past.
I will also come up with some heretical thoughts about the future. But first, the narrative I started.
About 40 people attended that Broadmoor meeting, of whom about 22 represented ski areas. They included Dave Judson, who had been sent by the Eastern Ski Area Operators’ Association; D.R.C. (‘Darcy’) Brown, who headed the Aspen Skiing Corp., and who was to succeed Judson in the presidency; Ernie Blake of Taos; Nelson Bennett of White Pass; Bob Parker, representing what was then a paper area, Vail; Doc Des Roches, representing Laurel Mt., PA; Ben Abruzzo, representing La Madera Ski Area, and long before he dreamed of flying across the Atlantic in a balloon; Chuck Dwyer in his pre-Forest Service days; and others.
The strongest and best organized regional association then was Eastern, which already had 11 years experience under its belt, and had even sponsored and established the ASA Code, later to become the ANSI B-77 standards for aerial tramways.
And so, logically, Judson chaired the meeting, outlined Eastern’s experiences and described what he saw as the possibilities of a national organization. He also called on Frank Sterritte to speak. Sterritte was General Counsel for American International Underwriters, the international giant owned by Cornelius Starr, who also owned the Mt. Mansfield Company in Stowe. Sterritte’s legal team had won the important Wright vs Mansfield case, and his understanding of the legal and insurance aspects that plagued the industry then was deep, and his espousal of the potential effectiveness of a national association of ski areas was convincing, especially as he had been one of the organizers of ESAOA.
Another strong supporter of the idea was Darcy Brown, and his national prominence added much weight and credibility. He spoke to the need for the industry to be heard in Washington (sound familiar?), especially insofar as Forest Service matters were concerned.
There was wide enthusiasm for such an organization, and it swept from idea to reality in an incredibly short time. A name was adopted right there, an organizing committee formed with Judson at its head, and before the afternoon was out it had a Fifth Avenue office in New York, together with a part-time paid executive secretary to run it. (The author was the bonehead involved.) It even had the promise of a magazine, Ski Area Management, to fill what many perceived as a need for good communications for the fledgling association.
Things kept moving fast. In June, an executive committee was formed. A logo was designed and stationary printed. The constitution and bylaws were drafted, adapted from ESAOA’s. Papers of incorporation were filed. A dues structure was approved and membership solication begun. A newsletter was prepared.
By late summer NSAA had chosen a legal counsel, Judge Bert Lockwood of the N.Y. State Supreme Court. His job was to, 1) assemble and index as much background material as possible on ski area litigation; 2) consult with member areas; and 3) act as supplementary counsel in legal actions when deemed advisable.
NSAA was clearly operational!
Today, we can look back and see how thin that operational mode really was. It doesn’t take much to launch an association. A name, preferably a logo, an address, a printed constitution and bylaws, some names, a few bucks, a wave of the magic publicity wand and Presto}, you’ve got an association. You are “official.” You are the “voice of the industry.” Never mind that you have no membership; it is the assumption of authority that counts, and the presumption that this authority will be recognized.
This is not cynicism; it is reality. And the reality of those first years of NSAA was that it was tough sledding indeed to build membership, and thus funds for programs. The mainstay of support was the Eastern association, which not only advanced operating funds from its treasury during that first summer, but also later voted for 100% membership in NSAA.
As luck would have it, that first winter of NSAA’s life—the winter of 1962-63—was ‘one of those years” in the Sierras and Cascades. No snow. The national office was not exactly cheered when one of its directors, Ed Siegel of Sugar Bowl, wrote “At our last Lift & Tow Operators’ meeting on June 19 we tabled discussion of participation in the NSAA on a group basis because of our economic problems. We will still keep trying, but I am afraid our lack of snow has drained a lot of enthusiasm from some of our members.”
The convention was held in Stateline, CA. The East was solidly behind NSAA, so it seemed wise to take the message to the west. It was important that both the image and the membership be truly national. One encouraging development was that the Pacific Northwest group came down in force.
One of the most significant moves at that convention was “that the NSAA undertake the sponsorship in principle of the ASA Code.” (later to become ANSI B-77 Standards). The words “in principle” constituted a hedge, since many areas were wary of the whole idea of a “code.” The transfer of sponsorship from USEASA to NSAA had to wait for a lot of persuasion and a lot of time—two years—before going through.
But at least, in order of priorities, the lift standards ranked high with the infant NSAA.
The next twelve months proved to be critical. Membership growth had been labored and slow, and NSAA had voted that regional associations be responsible for a total of $150 per member area, to be pro-rated among its membership in any way they wanted. It helped—a little. The industry remained interested, but skeptical, hand on wallet.
In the meantime, NSAA had tackled the insurance problem, appointing Lukens, Savage and Washburn as brokers to manage an NSAA Insurance Plan. This firm was chosen after exhaustive interviews with major brokerage houses. (Rufus Barringer, who handled the business for LS&W, was later to strike off on his own with the NSAA program, ending up as Barringer & Williams, which in turn was bought by Kendall, the present operators.)
Here was a real service that NSAA was performing: bringing order to a chaotic ski area insurance scene, and more than anything else it demonstrated how effective a national ski area organization could be. It should be recorded that at least one prominent NSAA leader switched to the NSAA Insurance Plan at something of a financial sacrifice to his area just in order to show support and lend credibility.
The convention in 1964 was held at Caberfae, Michigan, in the heart of the central region where NSAA had had the least success in building membership. Obviously, it was hoped that showing the flag there would stimulate some interest and some memberships—a hope that was largely unrealized until some time later.
That June also saw the first trade shows, presented with a 3-day management clinic. They were organized by Ski Area Management when the NSAA Board decided it couldn’t risk that sort of commitment. A clinic and trade show was run at the Jug End Barn in the Berkshires, and also at Caberfae in conjunction with the NSAA Annual Convention.
It was at Caberfae that a very small group of NSAA leaders came to grips with a go/no-go decision. A lot of programs had been started, directions set and momentum gained. To an outside observer everything suggested an association that was smoothly on cruise control. But actually there was considerable discouragement from within, principally because there seemed to be little forward momentum in area involvement—in memberships. And this translated to dues and the ability of the association to survive financially. It also involved an assessment of how much longer Eastern could be asked to underwrite the whole national organization.
| Year | Convention Location | President | Exec. Sec/Dir (as of May) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Broadmoor, CO. | Judson | Rowan |
| 1963 | Stateline, CA. | Judson | Rowan |
| 1964 | Caberfae, MI. | Judson | Rowan |
| 1965 | Mt. Snow, VT. | Brown | Hasper |
| 1966 | Aspen, CO. | Brown | Hasper |
| 1967 | Stratton Mt. | Williams | Hasper |
| 1968 | Heavenly Valley, CA. | Williams | Garis |
| 1969 | Stratton, VT. | Bradley | Garis |
| 1970 | Vail, CO. | Bradley | Garis |
| 1971 | Hyannis, MA. | Snyder | Garis |
| 1972 | Sun Valley, ID. | Snyder | Garis |
| 1973 | Playboy Club, N.J. | Seibert | Garis |
| 1974 | Coronado | Seibert | Garis |
| 1975 | Seven Springs, PA. | Norton | Conniff |
| 1976 | Broadmoor, CO. | Norton | Conniff |
| 1977 | Homestead, VA. | Price | Conniff |
| 1978 | Lake Tahoe, CA. | Price | Conniff |
| 1979 | Playboy Club, WI. | Gravink | Conniff |
| 1980 | The Concord, N.Y. | Gravink | Conniff |
| 1981 | Del Coronado, CA. | Lewis (anticipated) | Conniff |
The individuals involved were convinced of the need for NSAA, but they wondered if it was an idea whose time had not quite come. It was agreed that right then was probably the last chance to cut losses and shut it all down with minimum damage to all concerned. But, after much soul-searching, optimism and commitment prevailed. It was “Press on regardless!”
The next three years were difficult ones for NSAA. The executive secretary had resigned in the spring of 1963 because he had rejoined Ski Magazine. His assistant, Ann Hasper, who had previously run SIA for a key stint, took his place. Things were happening, programs were continuing, but NSAA was strapped for operating funds because membership languished.
The national office temporarily resided in Ann Hasper’s Greenwich Village apartment because funds did not exist to rent space. Furthermore, half her salary was being paid by Ski Area Management, while ESAOA shared the balance with NSAA.
Still, things moved ahead. The 1965 Trade Shows and Clinics were scheduled for Park City, Ut., for the west, and at Mt. Snow in conjunction with the NSAA convention. The Convention turned out to be a major success, with 433 registering (including trade show exhibitors). Earlier in the year the Central had voted to join 100%, thanks to a push from its president, Jack English of Indianhead, MI. That increased NSAA’s membership in mid-America from four to 51. Things were looking up.
The Convention voted Darcy Brown in as president. He had been center stage with NSAA right from the start, and his involvement had always given the organization the sort of credibility it needed. Now, as president, his profile was even higher and it worked well. Prominent area owners and managers, who had been content to watch from the sidelines, began to become active and to support NSAA.
On the insurance front things were also moving well, especially since the inspection services of Bob Kinney became known. Areas were finding that the inspections were paying their own way. For instance, a condition that had resulted in frequent sheave-liner replacement represented savings of hundreds of dollars when diagnosed during inspection and corrected. Word of mouth was helping here. It also helped when the Rocky Mountain region of the Forest Service agreed to accept the Kinney inspection.
Kinney was also starting to unravel some of the contradictions and anomalies he was finding as he crossed jurisdictional lines.
For instance, he wrote, “As things now stand, the specifics on emergency brakes for chairlifts as required by the Forest Service and New York State are quite opposite. The specific methods of operation as required by either code is prohibited by the other.”
As the 1966 Convention at Aspen approached, SAM took an editorial look at NSAA, which by then had grown to 191 members, and concluded, “It is amazingly effective in relation to its very modest budget, but not nearly as effective as it could and should be with an adequate budget … An organization which has to spend a major part of its time and money on the internal mechanics of fiscal survival is limited in the services it can perform for the membership at large.” The editorial called for an increase in dues, and also scolded, “It is a sad thing that, to date, so many have been unwilling to shoulder the very modest burden that NSAA membership entails.”
Brown was re-elected president at the Aspen Convention, and some big guns came in as directors-at-large, including Bill Janss of Sun Valley, Pete Seibert of Vail and Frank Snyder of Stratton.
The National Skier’s Courtesy Code, which had been a major focus of the Safety Committee for some time, was adopted. This was a significant example of the effectiveness of NSAA in exerting its leadership with virtually no money to spend. The wording was drafted by NSAA VP Perry Williams, and then coordinated with NSPS, the U.S. Ski Association and the Forest Service. Not only was it universally adopted but Executive Secretary Hasper got Humble Oil to produce a 20-minute film, to publicize it.
Bob Kinney hailed the progress being made on Code revision, and called for its continuing review, pointing out that safety could, in many cases, be as well served by eliminating outdated provisions as it could by introducing new provisions. Kinney also proposed uniform Lift Malfunction and Accident Reporting for the sake of developing a statistical base for future study. In short, the industry was getting smart.
NSAA was also doing some Washington lobbying with the Labor and Immigration Departments on the problems of hiring foreign ski instructors.
In 1967 an experiment was tried in moving the convention to January, with Sun Valley chosen as the location. Attendance turned out to be poor, and not representative of the membership, so the “convention” was downgraded to a midwinter meeting—the first of a series—and the convention re-scheduled for June at Stratton.
In the meantime, NSAA was confronted with the resignation of Ann Hasper, who had ably run the national office on a shoestring for three years. Chosen to replace her was Richard Garis, who was to be in the post for six years. Perry Williams, the lawyer/owner of Snow Ridge, N.Y., was elected president. He had been active in NSAA from the start, and had been the first president of ESAOA.
The Fall of 1967 saw the unveiling of the Marshall-Lindh report which was the basis for the Forest Service’s Graduated Fee System for leasing to ski areas. It was the start of a long battle for NSAA.
By the 1968 Convention at Heavenly Valley, membership had grown to more than 250, which meant that, if nothing else, there were travel funds available to Garis so that he could get out to regional meetings around the country and build membership still further.
Research became a project for NSAA in these years, and has remained one ever since. The 1967 Convention authorized $1,000 toward a joint NSAA/Sno-engineering economic study of the ski industry. The 1968 meeting authorized an NSAA study, and Case & Co. was retained to pull it together.
The 1969 Convention returned to Stratton, complete with NSAA-operated trade show, and Steve Bradley of Colorado’s Winter Park was elected President. A new dues structure was put in place that was based on a percentage of gross winter lift ticket sales. Code revision was (finally) nearing an end. Membership had gone up by 82, and with the new $50 minimum it was hoped that a lot of the small areas would join.
By 1970, Executive Director Garis was reporting that, “During the early years, NSAA operated on a minuscule budget of $8,000 until 1965, when it was hiked to $15,000. We now operate on a $58,000 budget, and it is not enough.”
Area membership had reached 287—a 23% increase over the previous year—and sponsor membership had grown from 49 to 85. Environmental issues were the big thing at the Vail Convention, which was attended by 475 people. In March of 1970 the revision to the 1960 B.77 ASA Code was completed after literally years of frustrating effort. “Never again,” it was vowed. Continuous review was called for.
The Winter of 1970-71 saw the first NSAA Slope Maintenance Conference, put together at Winter Park by Steve Bradley. Seminars were mixed with on-slope demonstrations and head-to-head contests. The next winter, at Waterville Valley, the same was done for snowmaking. It was never to be handled that way again, but these two events did set the stage for what later became the on-slope demonstration component of today’s in-season NSAA meetings.
With increased prosperity in the industry, and with more managerial sophistication around, NSAA president Snyder set up an Economic Research Committee under Chuck Lewis, of Copper Mountain, “to obtain useful economic statistics in the industry through the aid of the United Banks of Denver.” The first report was produced in February 1972, and was the precursor to the annual Economic Analysis done today through the University of Colorado.
By the 1972 Convention, 288 areas were being insured through the NSAA Insurance Plan. There were 422 area members and 117 sponsor members. NSAA was prospering. The Sun Valley Convention was attended by over 500 persons, and there were over 70 exhibitors. It was as large there in relatively inaccessible Sun Valley as it had been in Hyannis, MA., the previous year—perhaps larger. Things were really moving!
But the first clouds over NSAA were also gathering, and they were hinted at in a report in SAM that, “A few suppliers felt the trade show should have been more effectively planned …In response to this and other reactions at the meeting, NSAA is sending out a questionnaire.” Actually, behind this rather bland report was a fast-widening crack that no amount of plastering over and no amount of questionnaires could contain.
The Sun Valley Convention had adopted new membership categories that changed suppliers from “sponsor” to “associate” members so that “suppliers could participate more” in NSAA affairs. It was viewed by many suppliers as a way to derive more revenue from their ranks, and they were getting upset. They contrasted the financial dependence of NSAA on the supplier dues and trade show revenues with the treatment they felt they were receiving from the NSAA national office, and they didn’t like it.
The drums beat all Fall and Winter, but nobody seemed to hear. In the Spring 1973 issue of SAM we ran an editorial titled “For a supplier voice.” Essentially it articulated an idea that was well on its way to being carried out anyway. I quote in part:
“To this end we think it might be very useful if there were an association of ski area suppliers who could give NSAA and its trade show managers the input necessary for the planning of successful trade shows.”
The convention at the Playboy Club in New Jersey elected Pete Seibert as President. A total of 546 attended, of whom 295 were from 134 areas, which had to be reduced in turn by 48 spouses, making the tally 247 area people and 222 registrants accounted for by the 64 exhibitors, with press and guests accounting for 29 more.
Expectations had been high because of the location, and exhibitors were very disappointed by the attendance and complained loudly. But still, nobody seemed to listen. The liveliest action centered around a crackling debate between Paul McCollister of Jackson Hole, and Hugh Killebrew of Heavenly Valley as to who should get the 1978 World Championships.
It was a weird confrontation in the making, but so desperate had these suppliers become that they were prepared to risk their relationships with their customers by forming their own association to run their own trade shows. And confrontation it was—eyeball to eyeball.
Ski Area Suppliers Association was formed, with Phil Savage, President of Hall Ski-Lift, heading it up. Ann (Hasper) Rowan was acting Executive Director.
A schedule of four regional trade shows was announced, designed to meet what suppliers saw as their own marketing needs and the needs of the areas across the country which were not attending the annual NSAA Convention and Trade Show.
On September 11, NSAA held a Board meeting in Denver. In effect it abruptly altered the face of NSAA. Faced with the prospect of an enormous loss of supplier-derived revenue—and at that time it represented 40% of the budget—the Board decided to adopt the supplier concept on trade shows and announced its own schedule of regional shows.
At this pivotal and rather contentious meeting, Dick Garis announced his resignation as Executive Director, and two Board members resigned. Another Board member, Cal Conniff, who was manager of Mt. Tom Ski Area in Holyoke, MA., was appointed Executive Director, and a move of the national office of NSAA to West Hartford, CT., was also announced.
A few days later, delegations from the NSAA and SASA boards met in Albany, and, as we wrote in SAM, “looked into the whites of each other’s eyes, and each knew the other was serious.” What evolved was one set of regional NSAA regional shows with “as low as possible” registration fees; the promise of supplier representation on the NSAA Board; and a trade show council, composed of suppliers, which would advise NSAA on trade show matters.
As we wrote at the time, “there were no losers—just winners” as a result of the meeting. NSAA maintained its control; the suppliers got the trade shows to match their marketing needs.
The crisis had passed—solved before it had touched more than a few people, and with the arrival of Cal Conniff the air cleared and everyone could address themselves to the new danger at hand: the energy shortage caused by the Arab oil embargo. Essentially, this brings us to the modern era of NSAA. Conventions have come and gone, along with the presiding presidents. The Seibert years ended with the Coronado convention in 1974. Then there were the Bill Norton years, which gave way to the Jay Price years and on up to the present Phil Gravink years. j With the stability of the national office under Cal Conniff the change in presidency now means subtle changes in style and emphasis, but few surprises as to basic direction for the association.
Insofar as membership is concerned, the era of big growth was past. In 1972, President Snyder reported a membership of 422 areas, with 117 supplier members; in 1980 it was 421 U.S., 36 Canadian and 11 overseas, for a total of 468—plus 139 supplier (associate) members.
But if membership had eased itself onto some sort of plateau, the level of activity by the association had surged upwards—as has the budget needed to put these programs into effect. In 1972-73, NSAA spent $147,053 in support of 392 ski area members; in 1979-80 it spent $478,405 in support of 421 U.S. members (plus 47 foreign).
The difference lies in programs which NSAA either funds or participates in. For instance, $65,000 was spent to achieve a strong lobbying capability in Washington through the American Ski Federation (ASF); administration of the B.77 standard cost less than $1,500 in 1972-73, while last year it cost $21,615.
| Year | Actual Expenditures | Actual Revenues | Yr. End Cash Surplus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-73 | $147,053 | 148,227 | $53,982 |
| 1973-74 | 167,481 | 158,375 | 37,876 |
| 1974-75 | 160,222 | 215,959 | 96,288 |
| 1975-76 | 198,832 | 242,759 | 140,215 |
| 1976-77 | 241,628 | 278,962 | 177,549 |
| 1977-78 | 315,162 | 302,202 | 164,589 |
| 1978-79 | 413,673 | 427,124 | 178,041 |
| 1979-80 | 478,405 | 477,665 | 177,303 |
But enough of statistics! I promised you generalities in this overview—trends, and if lucky, insights.
One thing I have noticed is the increasing sophistication of the state ski area organizations. A sign of the times may be the demise of the Eastern Ski Areas Association, which saw that its historic function could be better performed by state ski area associations or by NSAA—depending on the action required. It is in no way demeaning the importance—and increasing importance—of NSAA to say that state associations such as Ski Areas of New York (SANY), Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) and Colorado Ski Country with their paid staffs, are also playing an increasingly important role.
(And this is not to say either that regional associations such as Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association and Sierra Ski Areas Association will go the way of Eastern.)
I couldn’t end an overview of NSAA affairs without stirring the pot—just a /itt/e bit—and that brings me to the subject of conventions and trade show. Nothing through the years has been such a nagging and vexatious problem.
What should the annual convention be? What about the national trade show? If you were just putting on the one, making it just as good as it could possible be, and not having to worry about the other, what would you make the format, the timing? Then, having imagined these ideal occasions, could you put the two together and make it work?
It is impossible to combine the ingredients—location, time, speakers, seminars, committee work, association business, trade show, receptions and entertainment, golf and tennis—in a way that pleases everybody. In fact, once Cal Conniff has put it all together in the best way he can, his most important asset is his smile, his patience and his willingness to listen.
What /s possible, however, is to take a fresh, perhaps brutal look every now and then, face up to some facts and see if some new directions might make sense.
Fundamentally, the annual convention fulfills a legal requirement for the association in keeping with its bylaws. From a practical point of view, the convention is also a time—cynics notwithstanding—for a lot of association business to be done, principally in committee. This component might account for somewhere between 40 and 75 bodies showing up. Although one hopes otherwise, few people come to watch or participate in the associations activities who are not there as a member of one of those committees.
Sometimes a regional or state ski area association will schedule a meeting of their own in conjunction with the NSAA Convention, and this will add some numbers.
The trade show is designed to be a showcase for suppliers to our industry. Despite increasing costs for this part of the promotional mix, suppliers welcome the opportunity to exhibit at the national trade show. It is the “biggie.” Naturally, they expect a lot of ski areas to be represented, and preferably represented by the type of person who figures heavily in the buying decisions.
That leaves the organizer, Cal, with the job of building attendance. His “nut” consists of the Board and committee heads who are going to be there anyway, and who will no doubt cover the trade show. How to get the rest?
So, he sets about crafting a mixture of elements that will constitute the honey pot: seminars, big names, entertainment, elections, the trade show itself. If he isn’t lucky he’s a bum. A nice one, but that doesn’t help. And the exhibitors get mad, say they’ll boycott next year’s show, sulk for a while and then plan their next year’s exhibit.
At presstime, Cal Conniff was predicting a real SRO attendance at Coronado, so it looks as though he will be a hero, not a bum, and that the exhibitors will be happy despite their predisposition to grumble.
This is great, because the trade show represents major outlays for suppliers (and substantial revenues for NSAA). Its success should be paramount. And that is why I ask a fundamental question, even in the face of the Coronado show being a howling success.
Is there any reason it has to take place in May? Bylaws call for an annual meeting in May or June, but that could be changed. In fact, as we covered earlier in this piece, NSAA once switched to a January convention format.
Why not have the annual Convention and Trade Show in the Fall? Why in the Fall? Because it would probably be more productive for suppliers and get better attendance. There wasn’t the lead time in earlier years, and the Spring trade show was geared for exhibitors to make sales for the following season. This is still true for some suppliers, but for many it is a thing of the past.
A Fall trade show—which, incidentally, is when the big Munich, Innsbruck and Turin shows are—would work as the opening gun for the ski season 14 months hence. It would lay the groundwork for follow-up with in-season sales calls and regional shows.
I think attendance would be better. It would come when juices are running fast in anticipation of the season soon to start. Interest and enthusiasm run high—much higher than in the aftermath of a season, especially of a mediocre or bad one. Also, a bad snow year is often a reason for areas not attending a May convention; in the Fall nobody anticipates a bad snow year. We wouldn’t be in the ski business if we didn’t approach each season sure it was going to be a great snow year!
The biggest disadvantage is that ski area personnel are extremely busy in the Fall and wouldn’t take time away from that work to attend a typically leisurely convention. True! So don’t make it leisurely. Condense, cut, sharpen the focus and doit all in 2½ days.
Perhaps this all seems like too big a change. How about something inbetween? Leave the annual convention in May or June, but have it just association business, with, perhaps, a single-focus seminar. Such a format would not be so demanding of space and could be accomodated at a lot of places. This NSAA Convention, then, could be more easily be scheduled in different parts of the country and tied in with a regional or state ski area association which would act as local host.
The 2½-day trade show would be scheduled in the Fall, synchronized with the Fall NSAA Board meeting. (Some other place than Bermuda, we would think!)
And those are my thoughts on this, the happy occasion of the 20th annual convention of NSAA. I am proud to have been a part of all twenty, and look forward immensely to the next… well, uh, few.
Counting to Twenty
Is this the 19th or 20th Convention for NSAA? It comes down to semantics. It is the 20th meeting, if you count—as we do—that first meeting in 1962. Certainly NSAA was operational during 1962-63, which means that NSAA has completed 19 years of service in May 1981, and is starting on its 20th year with its 20th meeting.
On the other hand, anniversaries generally are celebrated at the end of the year. Thus, the day of your birth is not your birthday. (On the day of your birth you are zero years old, and your birthday is really the anniversary of the day of your birth, and your first birthday comes some 2,000 diaper changes later when you have survived a whole year.)
Have we confused you? Not to worry. If you think NSAA should be celebrating its birthday in anniversary form then we’ll celebrate next year, too. And that will make it a shorter time to wait until our 25th.
