SAM Magazine—Newry, Maine, Sept. 12, 2024—The New England Summit returned to Sunday River, Sept. 9-11, where more than 400 attendees from all over the Northeast participated in educational sessions, a trade show, and networking events.   

Host Ski Maine held the event in Portland, Maine, in 2023, and it will return there to the Holiday Inn by the Bay in 2025 (Sept. 8-9).

Outgoing NSAA president and CEO Kelly Pawlak delivered the opening keynote on Tuesday morning. Pawlak presented a variety of data from the 2023-24 winter season, focusing on the results from the Northeast region of the United States, which drew the second most skier visits of any region last season, but did see a year-over-year decline. The fairly strong visitation came despite below average snowfall and a decline in operating days compared to 10 years ago (130 in 2013-14 to 107 in 2023-24). 

Pawlak, who submitted her resignation in May but is staying on until a successor is found, shared some thoughts on the industry. Among them, she said climate change will continue to deliver curveballs and encouraged attendees to be leaders in influencing government—local, state, and federal—to combat climate change. The industry needs to be more diversified in several ways, including revenue sources, visitor makeup, and workforce, she said, expounding on the value of having different lived experiences among leadership. Pawlak also stressed the importance of strong community relations and giving the community a seat at the table, which she said is a mutually beneficial approach. 

As always, topics covered in the educational sessions ran the gamut from risk management, communications, and leadership to operations, technology, and sustainability. The NSAA Fall Education Series was also part of the mix.

Some interesting themes emerged in the GM roundtable session, notably the amount of stormwater management work being done at ski areas. What were once deemed 100-year floods are now occurring far more frequently in the Northeast, so there was discussion about taking a more proactive approach by building better water bars and keeping culverts clear. 

The group also touched on data showing the number of lessons given in the Northeast is still well below what it was only 10 years ago, a trend Pawlak discussed in her keynote. While lessons have been on the rise since the significant drop that occurred during the pandemic, there’s work to be done. The impacts from increased season pass usage and transportation challenges with school districts were a couple of challenges mentioned that could be impacting the number of lessons given.

According to Ski Maine, 73 companies and 56 ski areas were represented at the event. The ski area personnel in attendance hailed from many different departments and levels of management, not just senior leaders, as is typical for industry events. These fresh faces contributed their boots-on-the-ground perspectives to many conversations during educational sessions. 

The four trade show sessions were abuzz as suppliers engaged with operators about their latest and greatest. SAM’s new marketing director Karolyn Towle was right at home at Sunday River, where she served as communications director for a number of years. The SAM team also got to meet Owen Pelletier from Pats Peak, N.H., a 2024 SAM “10 Under 30.”

Conversations about weather, business levels, and increasing costs were pervasive. Despite the challenges ski areas face, an overall sense of optimism prevailed.