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From the Desk of Michael Berry

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the 2017 NSAA National Convention and Tradeshow here in beautiful Scottsdale.
The Fairmont Princess Resort is spectacular: an oasis replete with lush landscaping, blooming cacti, two 18-hole championship
golf courses, six swimming pools, five award-winning restaurants, a spa and wellness center, and so much more—all arrayed
against a stunning Sonoran desert backdrop. It’s the perfect location to relax, recharge, reflect, and reconnect with industry
friends and peers.
The Convention again this year offers a full slate of presentations and sessions covering a range of issues and topics
important to your business. Bringing together area personnel and industry experts, you are sure to walk away inspired, informed,
and with ideas in hand that you can act on and customize to make your own. Each session is an opportunity to engage and
network as we dig into a variety of topics including non-traditional events and next-generation attractions, best practices in
conversion, marketing, and operations, as well as insights from NSAA research.
This season has been a study in contrasts. While we have struggled with the strong dollar and its impact on international
guests, we have enjoyed the benefit of low gas prices. We’ve enjoyed successes—including positive movement on Forest
Service fee retention in Congress and a new ski safety statute in Wyoming—while wrestling with enormous challenges for labor
and employee housing. As an industry, we are showing a renewed commitment to chairlift maintenance safety and education,
while the media manufactures controversy and misrepresents our laudable safety record.
Indeed, every season seems like a new, “new normal” resulting from the challenges we face from an uncooperative Mother
Nature. When Squaw Valley and Mammoth boast 800 inches of snow—which is both a blessing and a curse—Chicago records
its first January and February in 146 years without snow. I personally know the intense challenges we are all up against in
battling the vagaries of climate change. On this front, we are embattled from all directions, not just resort operations, but from
Washington, our banking and finance partners, and competition from other activities, recreation, and even technology.
And what a fascinating, unprecedented, and for some, unnerving experience the first few months of this new Trump
administration has been. While the ski industry has been receptive to some of the administration’s pro-business policies—health
care and tax reform, curtailing regulations, infrastructure spending, wages and overtime, to name a few—there also remain other
areas where NSAA is deeply concerned and closely monitoring certain extreme policy changes from the White House and
Congress. The Trump administration’s complete reversal of President Obama’s sustainability and clean energy initiatives, the
withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and the president’s outright and indefensible denial of climate change,
will have serious and detrimental impacts in our industry. Likewise, Trump’s steep agency budget cuts and federal hiring freezes
are also problematic for our industry—the Forest Service is already far behind on critical infrastructure projects, and cuts to the
State Department could deeply impact our industry’s access to 7,000 J-1 visa workers. His hostile immigration policies are
discouraging all forms of travel, particularly for our larger destination resorts.
Lastly, after a quarter of a century, it is profoundly bittersweet that this is my last convention as president of NSAA.
Understandably, I have conflicting emotions as I embark on the next chapter of my life and retirement, but I take great comfort
knowing that the team I’ve built at NSAA has worked tirelessly to serve this amazing industry, and created a truly special
organization that is passionate and committed to both the sport and the interests of our members. Challenges remain, of
course, but I leave NSAA to the next generation of industry leaders as a vibrant, respected, influential and, importantly,
financially strong organization. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on our organization, our accomplishments, and the close
friendships created during my tenure, and I am honestly overwhelmed and deeply grateful as I try to appreciate how amazing
this experience has been.
Thank you for your support over the past 25 years, and for all you have done to help make our industry what it is today.

Sincerely,

Michael Berry
NSAA President

CONVENTION 2017 | NSAA JOURNAL | C1