Obituaries

Leroy W. Schultz, P.E.

1937-2018

Legendary aerial lift and tramway engineer LeRoy Schultz died July 15 at the age of 81. Schultz began his professional engineering career with Thiokol Chemical Corporation Aerospace Division in Brigham City, Utah, upon graduating from College in 1962. 

In 1964, he started his ski area lift and tramway engineering career as the U.S. Forest Service regional tramway engineer in Montana and Idaho. He later went back to Thiokol Chemical Corporation in Logan, Utah, as director of engineering for its Ski Lift Manufacturing Division.

Leroy then became active in ski area engineering and loss prevention with Kendall Insurance/Willis Corroon (MountainGuard) in 1977. He organized and participated in many risk management and loss prevention seminars for the ski industry and for various other industries. He is the author of the National Ski Areas Association Lift Loading and Unloading Guidelines and of numerous articles and seminars.

Past affiliations include Chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B77.1 Committee on Passenger Lifts and Tramways, Chairman of NSAA Ski Slope Night Lighting Committee, member of the International Organization of Transportation of Ropeway-North American Section (OITAF-NACS), Utah Tramway Association, and on the Board of Directors of the Intermountain Ski Areas Association. He was a licensed professional engineer in seven states.

In 2000, Leroy retired as employee of MountainGuard but continued as a valued loss control consultant for many years.

Peter Hand

1944-2018

Longtime southern Vermont ski area leader Peter Hand died on July 10, his 74th birthday. Peter and his wife Mary Beth moved to Manchester Center, Vt., in 1971 where they settled and raised their family. Peter worked at Stratton Mountain Resort from 1971 to 1982 as manager of food services. He was president of nearby Haystack Mountain from 1986-1991. He then worked for Boston Culinary Group as director of food and beverage at Bromley Mountain for 20 years before he retired in 2012.

In his retirement, he was able to enjoy working on his model trains, restoring his antique clocks, golfing and spending time with immediate and extended family and friends.

Industry on the Move

Karen Wagner, ski patrol director, Stowe Mountain Resort

Karen Wagner has been promoted to ski patrol director at Stowe Mountain Resort, Vt. She succeeds Bill Schaaf, who stepped down in April after 19 years at the helm of the 84-year-old Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol. Wagner grew up in Woodbridge, Conn., went to Colby College in Maine, came to Stowe one year after graduation and became a member of the Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol. About a decade later, she became the resort’s risk manager, as well as a consultant for Willis Insurance. This past winter, Wagner was Stowe’s assistant ski patrol director.

“I’m very happy to take on this new challenge for an enterprise that fosters leadership and has women I admire in key leadership roles,” Wagner said. “I’m honored and thrilled to work with such an extraordinary team here at Stowe Mountain Resort.” Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol is the country’s oldest organized ski patrol, dating back to 1934, when rescue crews used corrugated metal roofing for toboggans. It provided the model for the National Ski Patrol.

Loon Mountain Resort Staff Promotions

Brian Norton

Currently the director of mountain sports development for Boyne Resorts, Brian Norton will become Loon’s vice president of mountain operations.

Norton began his ski industry career at Loon in 2001 as a lift attendant and terrain park employee. He was promoted to terrain park manager in 2007. In 2015, he was named terrain park surfaces manager for Boyne Resorts, where he was responsible for creating consistency in terrain park operations across all of the company’s resorts. In the fall of 2017, he was promoted to director of mountain sports development for Boyne Resorts. He is currently active in a number of ski industry initiatives, serving on the NSAA Freestyle Terrain Committee and is a regular presenter and instructor at Ski Area Management’s Cutters Camp.

“Loon is home to me, and it feels good to be back full time,” Norton said. “I plan to follow through on the work that was started by a lot of great people before me, and will continue to establish Loon as an industry-leader in ski resort operations.”

Kevin Bell

Kevin Bell is being promoted to Loon’s vice president of marketing. Bell has served as Loon’s marketing manager since 2012. He started his ski industry career at Loon in 2003 as an assistant terrain park supervisor. He became a graphic designer for Booth Creek Resorts in 2005, working closely with the marketing teams at Loon, Waterville Valley Resort, and Cranmore Mountain Resort.

"It’s a tremendous honor to join the leadership team at Loon. I have been fortunate enough to work in both marketing and operations roles at the resort and the staff here is the true definition of teamwork,” Bell said. “Together, we will stay focused on delivering an excellent experience for our guests in all seasons."

Andrew Noyes 

Andrew Noyes, who has served as Loon’s vice president of mountain operations since 2016, will become the resort’s vice president of guest services, a newly created position. In his new role, Noyes will oversee group sales, ticketing, and customer service. Noyes is no stranger to these aspects of Loon’s business. Upon graduating from Lyndon State College in 1984, he took a position at The Inn at Loon, which later became The Mountain Club on Loon hotel. He left the hotel in 1996 to become Loon’s director of sales, a position he held until becoming vice president of mountain operations in 2016.

In 2012, Noyes was awarded the Business Excellence Award by the N.H. Travel Council, and later received the 2016 BEWI Award, which recognizes ski industry salespeople for their professionalism, dedication, and passion for the snowsports lifestyle.

“I’m looking forward to taking on this new role,” Noyes said. “Loon already provides great guest service, but there’s always room to improve. I’m fully committed to working with our various resort departments to develop employee training standards and streamline resort processes that will further improve the experience of our guests.”

“We’re committed to developing great people at Loon, and the promotion of Brian, Kevin, and Andrew shows that,” said Jay Scambio, Loon’s president and general manager.

Sam Williams, senior director of mountain operations, Purgatory and Hesperus

Current Powderhorn Resort GM Sam Williams is moving to Durango, Colo., where he’ll take on the role of senior director of mountain operations for Purgatory Resort and Hesperus Ski Area. Both properties are owned by Mountain Capital Partners. His first day will be Aug. 6.
"It's just a great opportunity career-wise for me to get to a bigger resort and take on some more responsibility," Williams said.
He started in the business at Copper Mountain, Colo., working as a snowmaker and as a member of the trail crew. He also ran a general contracting business in Grand Junction for 15 years.

Steve Daly, western North America sales and business development, Demac Lenko

Industry veteran Steve Daly recently joined the team at Demac Lenko covering western North America sales and business development for the company. Daly has vast experience working for some of the leading ski area suppliers in the world. Most recently, he worked for TechnoAlpin. Before that, Daly was at Leitner-Poma of America, and Areco before that.