In SAM’s Snow People, we highlight personnel moves in the mountain resort industry. From resort hires, promotions, and retirements to awards, obits, and supplier news, we celebrate the people that make this industry thrive.

PEOPLE: 

Gardner BeougherGARDNER BEOUGHER, WHITEFISH MOUNTAIN RESORT, MT

Gardner Beougher has been appointed as the mountain operations director for Whitefish Mountain Resort, Mont. Beougher has 21 years of experience in the resort’s grooming and snowmaking department. Prior to the promotion, he was the resort’s slopes manager for the last four ski seasons. 

 

 

Mike GiorgioMIKE GIORGIO, VAIL RESORTS

Mt. Brighton, Mich., general manager Mike Giorgio was named as regional general manager for Vail Resorts. He now oversees Mt. Brighton; Boston Mills/Brandywine, Mad River Mountain, and Alpine Valley in Michigan; and Paoli Peaks in Indiana.

 

 

Tait WardlawTAIT WARDLAW, OLYMPIC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, NY

Tait Wardlaw joined the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates Whiteface Mountain, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain, N.Y., as vice president of sales, marketing, and communications. Wardlaw brings more than eight years of marketing experience at various companies including Resonance, Genome Digital and Adworkshop.

 

PETER DISCH, HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT, CA

Peter Disch has been appointed as the new vice president of mountain operations for Heavenly Mountain Resort, Calif. Prior to joining Heavenly, Disch was the general manager of Mount Sunapee, N.H.

Outgoing board president Brad Wilson (left) and Jeff Colburn.JEFF COLBURN, SKI IDAHO

Silver Mountain Resort general manager Jeff Colburn was elected president of the Idaho Ski Areas Association board of directors. Colburn has worked for more than three decades in the ski resort industry, starting out at Alaska’s Eaglecrest Resort in 1991. He moved to Silver Mountain in 2005. 

 

 

 GLENN HARMON, MARK GORVEATT, TRICIA GARCIA, BRANTLY LUDINGTON, KELLY HUNT, BEN SIWAK, and ROBERT BRAY, CRANMORE MOUNTAIN RESORT, NH

Mark Gorveatt, Glenn Harmon, and Ben Siwak

Glenn Harmon, vice president of operations, has retired after a 20-year career at Cranmore, N.H. Harmon began his career at Cranmore in 2004 as food and beverage director. From there he moved to various positions including base area operations director and director of operations before being promoted to vice president of operations in 2021. 

Mark Gorveatt, properties and facilities manager, has retired after 13 years at Cranmore. During Gorveatt’s time at the resort, he has been instrumental in developing the resort’s facility/housekeeping department to be able to maintain the resort’s numerous facilities as well as aiding the master plan development.

Cranmore has promoted Tricia Garcia to the role of director of resort operations. Garcia has been with Cranmore for 17 years in various roles including ticket and systems Tricia Garcia, Ben Siwak, and Robert Braymanager, manager of base area operations, and director of base area operations. 

Brantly Ludington was promoted to director of mountain operations. Ludington began his career at Cranmore in 2010 as a ski instructor before becoming a terrain park supervisor, then snowmaking supervisor, and most recently serving as assistant mountain manager.

Kelly Hunt has been promoted to sales and events director. In her new role, Hunt will oversee all mountain events, weddings, functions, and sales programs, along with acting as the liaison with the on-site hotel, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott.

Ben Siwak was appointed as facilities manager and Robert Bray was promoted to assistant facilities manager. 

Robert Drake ROBERT DRAKE, GUNSTOCK MOUNTAIN RESORT, NH

The Gunstock Area Commission has selected Robert Drake to succeed Tom Day as Gunstock Mountain Resort president and general manager. Drake most recently served as business operations general manager for Middlebury Snowbowl in Vermont, a position he had held since 2022. Prior to that, Drake was the assistant general manager at the nonprofit Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman, Mont., and the director of sales, marketing, and lodging services at Red Lodge Mountain Resort in Red Lodge, Mont. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

 

Matt McCreedyMATT MCCREEDY and BRADEN TURNER, JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT, WY

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) chief financial officer Matt McCreedy retired on June 30 after more than three decades at the resort. Corporate controller Braden Turner will succeed McCreedy as the resort’s new CFO. Turner is a licensed CPA who has served as the resort’s corporate controller since November 2022. He previously spent four years working at global business consulting firm Deloitte and then held various financial leadership roles for Rossignol prior to joining JHMR. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

 

SUPPLIERS

Ron RatnikRatnik Industries celebrated founder Ron Ratnik’s 90th birthday during a gathering of friends, family, and ski industry colleagues at Bristol Mountain, N.Y., on Monday, July 29. (From all of us at SAM, happy birthday, Ron!)

 

 

Partek will no longer build new lifts but will continue to provide parts and supplies and perform retrofits and modifications.

Demaclenko added Charles Blier and Michelle Vona to its North American snowmaking system and equipment sales team. Blier will focus on the U.S. Southeast and Eastern Canada. Vona will focus on the U.S. Western Rockies. 

Sodexo Live! is the catering provider for the athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games. Forty-thousand meals will be served 24/7 for two months at the world’s largest restaurant—the Olympic Village—from company’s culinary team and partner chefs. With a major focus on sustainability and plant-based dining, 80 percent of ingredients for the 500+ dishes will be French, and 25 percent will come from within 155 miles of Paris. 

Tim Larsen is the new senior vice president at Axess Resort Solutions. Larsen brings more than three decades of experience building and leading teams in delivering customer success solutions to the ski industry. 

Will Treves has been appointed as the new CEO of Aspenware. Treves has 20 years of experience in the tech field and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.  

Tim Larsen

Will Treves

 

Leitner-Poma of America (LPOA) opened a new $27 million, 130,000-square-foot Skytrac manufacturing facility in Tooele, outside of Salt Lake City. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

French industrial group MND opened a new cable transport production and assembly facility in Savoie, France. The facility cost 10 million euros (roughly $10.5 million) and is dedicated specifically to production of the group’s new Orizon range of gondolas and chairlifts. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

Doppelmayr USA will expand its Salt Lake City headquarters with the addition of a new facility that will nearly double the size of its existing building, allowing Doppelmayr USA to take a larger role in manufacturing and accommodate a growing workforce. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

Leitner-Poma of America

MND

Doppelmayr USA

Dave AmiraultSnow Partners has hired Dave Amirault as chief innovation officer for all its related businesses. In this newly created role, Amirault will lead Snow Partners’ innovation strategy for Mountain Creek Resort and Big Snow American Dream, N.J., SnowCloud resort management software, and Snow Operating. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

 

 

Swedish locking and security systems manufacturer Assa Abloy Group has entered into an agreement to purchase Skidata from Swiss business technology firm the Kudelski Group. Full report on SAM’s Headline News.

 

AWARDS

COLORADO SKI COUNTRY USA AWARDS

Emily Moratta, Arapahoe Basin, Patroller of the Year

Marc Fernandes, Aspen Snowmass, Instructor of the Year

Scott Mackie, Aspen Snowmass, Terrain Park Specialist of the Year

Amy Geppi, Copper Mountain, Food and Beverage Professional of the Year

Micah Schulman, Echo Mountain, Snowmaker of the Year

Louis Miller, Eldora, Snow Groomer of the Year

Bill Henke, Sunlight Mountain Resort, Guest Services Professional of the Year

Micki Hackenberger, President’s Award

Sen. Dylan Roberts, Chair’s Award

 

NORTH AMERICAN SNOWSPORTS JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION

Cindy Hirschfeld and Moira McCarthy received the Harold S. Hirsch Awards of Excellence; Mark Kristofic received the Hirsch Award in the images category; Tom Kelly received the Hirsch Award in the podcast category. 

Bill Danner received the Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award. Emily Summers was recognized with the Bob Gillen Awards. Jessica Diggins and Mikaël Kingsbury received the Paul Robbins Outstanding Competitor of the Year. 

 

SKI UTAH INAUGURAL YETI AWARDS

Jeffrey Sanich, Brighton Resort, Back of House, Food & Beverage Professional of the Year

Steffan Eklund, Solitude Mountain Resort, Front of House, Food & Beverage Professional of the Year

Steve Wakefield, Sundance Mountain Resort, Groomer of the Year

Alexis Croce, Snowbird Resort, Guest Services Professional of the Year

Greg Solberg, Eagle Point Resort, Instructor of the Year

Skyler Bair, Nordic Valley Ski Resort, Lift Mechanic of the Year

Dan "Cowboy" Lind, Brian Head Resort, Lift Operations Professional of the Year

Quinn Case, Alta Ski Area, Parking Attendant of the Year

Mikey Ericson, Snowbasin Resort, Patroller of the Year

Jake Schoenfeld, Park City Mountain, Snowmaker of the Year

Michael Dennett, Brighton Resort, Terrain Park Groomer of the Year

Pascal Begin, Nordic Valley Ski Resort, Chairperson's Award

Tom Kelly, President's Award

Jeffrey Gelder Lewis, Gelder Generational Wealth, Member of the Year

 

SADDLEBACK, INAUGURAL BIRDSAFE MAINE AWARD

Maine Audubon named Saddleback as the recipient of its inaugural BirdSafe Maine Award for the environmentally conscious design at its new mid-mountain restaurant, The Nest. The Nest was designed with innovative bird deflection screens on the building’s windows to avoid birds colliding into the windows.

 

OBITUARIES

Pat BoylePAT BOYLE
Pat Boyle died on July 5, 2024. Pat's journey in the ski industry began at Fortress Mountain in the mid-1970s before moving on to Big White, where he began working with lifts. He took his skills to Apex Mountain and eventually caught on with Poma America, helping to install the gondola at Whistler Mountain. He spent more than 35 years leading the crew of Leitner Poma Canada’s western division, managing several lift installations in the region and also contributing to sales, service, and parts for the company. 

Pat Boyle’s Celebration of Life will be on August 22^nd, 2024

The ceremony will be at the top of the Gondola at the Village Centre Mall from 2-430ish PM (at Big White Ski Resort) 

Refreshments and Pilsner toast available after the ceremony 

Please RSVP to Debbie at deb@inter-mtn.com

Bus transportation available from Kelowna. If needed, please let Debbie know when you RSVP