MOUNT SUNAPEE WINS NATIONAL GUEST SERVICE AWARD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mount Sunapee Resort
Newbury, NH
Bruce McCloy, Director of Marketing and Sales
(603) 763-3500 or bmccloy@mtsunapee.com
Newbury, NH – (April 29, 2009) – Mount Sunapee Resort has won a national Guest Service Award from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) for MyPlace, an innovative skills development program for skiers and riders ages 13-17. Annually NSAA presents industry awards for guest service and marketing programs that are designed to grow the sports of skiing and snowboarding. The award will be presented to Mount Sunapee at the NSAA National Convention and Trade Show at Marco Island, Florida on Thursday, May 14.
In an effort to get more skiers and snowboarders ages 13-17 involved in Learning Center programs, Mount Sunapee staff held conference calls during the summer of 2008 with young skiers and boarders to help create a program just for them. Mount Sunapee asked what they wanted out of a program, what would make it fun and what Mount Sunapee should do and shouldn’t do. “These kids were amazing”, says Maura Gorman, director of the Learning Center at Mount Sunapee. “They were prepared, articulate and knew exactly what they wanted and didn’t want.”
The result was a new skills development program at Mount Sunapee called MyPlace. It is a fast paced two-hour session for intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders. Participants are grouped by age and personal goals. To make it “fun” the instructor captures the session on a hand-held video camera and then the video is posted on a MyPlace page on the Mount Sunapee web site. While the video might be used as a teaching aid during the session it also is meant to capture the “personality” of the group. Edited and put to music, participants can share their “MyPlace video” with friends and family on the Mount Sunapee web site.
MyPlace is offered weekends and holidays throughout the winter season. The press release from NSAA announcing the award is included below.
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Troy Hawks
NSAA Communications
thawks@nsaa.org
(720) 963-4215
Annual Ski Industry Marketing, Guest Service Award Winners Announced
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – April 28, 2009 — Today the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced the winners of the 2008/09 Marketing and Guest Service Awards. Winning programs will be formally recognized during an award reception at NSAA's National Convention and Tradeshow to be held at the Marriott Marco Island Resort, Fla.. The awards, sponsored this year by SportsInsurance.com and BCF, are presented annually to ski resorts nationwide, both large and small, for their successful marketing and guest service programs that ultimately help grow the sports of skiing and snowboarding. This year’s categories recognized the Best Overall Marketing Program and the Best Overall Guest Service Program in four resort categories based on resort skier and rider visitation: Up to 100,000 visits; 100,000 to 250,000 visits; 250,000 to 500,000 visits; and 500,000 and more visits. The 2008/09 winning resorts are:
Best Overall Marketing Program
Up to 100,000 visits: Tie: Indianhead Mountain, Mich. & Mad River Glen, Vt.
100,000 – 250,000 skier visits: Jay Peak Resort, Vt.
250,000 – 500,000 skier visits: Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, Colo.
500,000 or more skier visits: Mammoth, Calif.
Best Overall Guest Service Program
Up to 100,000 visits: Chestnut Mountain Resort, Ill.
100,000 – 250,000 skier visits: Mt. Sunapee Resort. N.H.
250,000 – 500,000 skier visits: Sugarbush Resort, Vt.
500,000 or more skier visits: Beaver Creek Resort, Colo.
Judges for this year’s awards were Margie Bootenhoff, president of Clarity Marketing, Colo.; Rob Brown, president of Mountain News Corp., Calif., Christine Donovan, Event Director, BEWI Productions Inc., Mass., and Andy Hawk, Marketing Director, PSIA/AASI. Each of the winning programs will be highlighted in the August issue of the NSAA Journal.
THE NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION, LOCATED IN LAKEWOOD, COLO., IS A TRADE ASSOCIATION FORMED IN 1962 FOR SKI AREA OWNERS AND OPERATORS NATIONWIDE.
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