Page 20 - Early Winter 2014

MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS 2015 Winter Conference Topics Include Technology, Terrain Parks, Succession BY EARL SALINE, educa tion pr ogr amming direc t or he winter season is rapidly approaching and NSAA is building programs for the upcoming Eastern and Western Conference and Tradeshows to be hosted at Killington, Vermont, January 20–21, 2015, Tand Snowbird, Utah, February 10–12. The regional conferences will feature • Risk and Safety: Workers’ compen- Working together across all depart- education sessions focused on current sation remains a hot topic as areas ments is critical to this effort, as is topics and trends in the industry and at strive to increase the safety of their following up with customers. Area areas. There’s not a better way—or better employees and improve their health. managers will discuss their challenges place—to stay up to date, connect with Join our area representatives and rec- and successes in developing the cul- friends, network with peers from other ognized health experts to learn about ture of conversion at their areas. areas, and check out the latest and great- proven strategies you can implement • Terrain Parks: New material has est from NSAA suppliers. at your resort. been released to help areas manage Individual sessions will address • Operations: With lift service running and build their terrain parks. Sessions topics ranging from lift evacuation to almost year-round, areas need to be will give park managers and supervi- terrain park construction, and from prepared with summer lift evacuation sors guidance on how to implement conversion best practices to the impact procedures and shortened mainte- this new information and how to use of minimum wage legislation. Featuring nance windows. Concurrent sessions the tools provided. industry experts and resort managers, will cover the newly released Lift the conference education sessions will Evacuation Manual and summer lift Registration for the conferences opens provide detailed discussions and tangible evacuation best practices. mid-November on NSAA.org. Be sure to takeaways that you and your teams will • Conversion: Bringing in new cus- put these event dates in your calendar and be able to put into action this year. tomers and holding onto existing get registered. We’re looking forward to Here are examples of the some of the customers is what sustains a business. seeing you there! n topics on the agenda: • Technology: As technology increases Groomers Get Ready for PhatCat Challenge its reach into ski area operations, there are various implications. In the ne of the most highly anticipated features of the upcoming Eastern Conference and “good” column is the advent of elec- OTradeshow at Killington January 20-21, 2015, is the NSAA PhatCat Challenge—where tronic incident reporting; in the “not the unsung heroes of corduroy compete for bragging rights and their share of the indus- as good” column are the risks asso- try spotlight. The event is the industry’s preeminent on-snow grooming machine competition ciated with the discoverability of all and pits top snowcat drivers in a head-to-head contest designed to test their overall pro- things electronic. Individual sessions ficiency. Recognizing that these swamis of frozen H O do a lot more than just buff out 2 will address these important issues. the snow, this year’s event will feature some additional “challenges” that will separate the • Human Resources: No one ever best from rest. In addition to demonstrating their knowledge of the machinery, opera- tors will be tasked with buffing out a snow feature that would be found in a beginner wants to lose a key player on your terrain park or terrain-based learning area. staff whether it’s a front-line super- Drivers may compete in one of two categories: Pro Driver, reserved for ski area visor or senior VP, yet it happens. grooming and snow surface professionals, or PhatCat, reserved for top ski area execu- Learn best practices for developing a tives, including CEOs, presidents, general managers, and mountain operations directors. A $1,000 cash prize goes to the first place winner in the Pro Driver division. pipeline of talent to fill those inevi- The Challenge is sponsored by grooming machine manufacturers PistenBully and table gaps from Society for Human Prinoth, along with Mountain Uniforms, which will be providing PhatCat jackets for all Resource (SHRM) professionals in the participants and judges. Look for results of the event in a future issue of the Journal. the Succession Planning session. 18 | NSAA Journal | EARLY WINTER 2014 w w w. n s a a . o rg NSAA Early Winter 2014 prepressed v5b.indd 18 10/29/14 6:07 PM