SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., Sept. 30, 2024—Ski areas across North America are invited to nominate their snowmaking teams to participate in the 10th annual “I AM a Snowmaker” contest, presented by HKD Snowmakers. The “I AM” contest offers the opportunity for a handful of resorts to showcase their snowmaking teams and the work they do via creative, behind-the-scenes videos. 

Nominations should tell the story of why a resort’s snowmaking crew would be a compelling addition to the contest. The nomination period closes October 11.

“HKD Snowmakers is thrilled to sponsor another year of ‘I AM a Snowmaker’ to highlight the significant work that snowmaking teams do throughout challenging and rewarding winters,” said HKD Snowmakers co-founder and president Charles Santry. 

“Today, snowmaking crews are more frequently utilizing some level of data analytics and automation to take advantage of every snowmaking window available, no matter how short,” Santry continued. “However, success in snowmaking in many cases can be the result of something more intangible. At HKD, we like to call it ‘NI’ or ‘natural intelligence.’ NI represents the innate culture and work ethic of the team itself. It is cultivated through training, cooperation, camaraderie, understanding and education. This year for the ‘I AM,’ we want you to show us how your team utilizes technology, analytics, and that special NI to create a unified and successful team!”

This year’s competing teams will be announced on October 28 and challenged to produce a video that captures the crew’s blend of natural intelligence utilization of tech. Videos will be shared and voted on in January 2025.

“It’s time again to get fired up about snowmaking and the people behind this ever-important mountain operation,” said SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. “We’re excited to celebrate 10 years of ‘I AM’ recognizing the contribution of your snowmaking teams and institutional knowledge being passed from old to new leaders within the industry. SAM is a proud supporter of this acknowledgment.”

HKD will host the winning “I AM a Snowmaker” team at its factory in Quebec City for two days of education and entertainment. Snowmakers will be given the opportunity to dive deep into HKD’s best-selling products and learn how to maintain, troubleshoot, repair, and operate HKD equipment safely.

More details and inspiration at www.saminfo.com/i-am-a-snowmaker.