Mantra Opticalideology announces that Steve Astephen has been hired as the national sales manager for the company. Astephen recently held the position of marketing director for Lamar Snowboards.

In addition, Mantra welcomes Kevin Jones as the newest member to its snowboard team.

Mervin Manufacturing announces several changes to its sales force. Ken Kelly will now represent Lib Tech and Gnu snowboards, Arcane boots and bindings, and Bent Metal bindings in Colorado. Jason Locking will assume Kelly’s former duties in the newly created position of national sales coordinator. Locking has been Mervin’s customer-service supervisor for the last three years.

Matt Remine will be joining Paul Delancellotti covering Washington and Oregon, representing Mervin, Arcane, and Quiksilver Wintersports products. Remine is replacing Ingrid Gunderson who has chosen to give the road a rest after seven years of service in the Northwest region.

Pete Stuart has joined the company as manufacturer’s rep for the intermountain territory, which includes Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. He will be handling Quiksilver and Roxy outerwear in addition to Mervin and Arcane products.

Reef Brazil recently chose J.D. Hendley as its men’s product manager. Hendley has been with Reef since 1997 and brings his creativity and enthusiasm for the active lifestyle directly into product development. In addition, Joe Lazar has been promoted from customer- services rep to the newly created position of in-house merchandising manager. He will be traveling from shop to shop, making sure Reef Brazil is properly represented with POP and window displays.

Nixon Watches welcomes two new members to its growing staff: Tom Landes, the new warehouse manager who’ll oversee shipping, returns, and warranty claims; and Bryan Reed who will be brought in as a controller.

Diana Carey has joined the Telluride Ski & Golf Company’s (Telski’s) marketing team as the new group sales manager.

Jeremy Bouley recently left Volant Snowboards and is now working at Burton with John Yousko, in Colorado.

Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc. recently named Priscilla Coffin to the position of corporate director of financial planning. In addition, three new members of the management team have been announced. Kim Wall is the new corporate director of purchasing, responsible for directing and managing the purchasing functions for all Booth Creek properties. Bill Carr was appointed corporate purchasing manager for Booth Creek’s eastern resorts. And Vicki Silvera has been named corporate information manager.

Jeff Princevalle has been named director of marketing for Helly Hansen. This is a new position for the company and Princevalle was brought in to strengthen the corporate commitment to marketing.

Karen Ragan also joins the marketing team. She is the new ski and outdoor segment coordinator.

Arbor Snowboards welcomes Adam Nagler to the company as director of marketing and new business. Most recently, Nagler was a principal at Hawaii based H20 Sports, a lifestyle and marketing consulting company.

Matt Lochner is now heading up the warranty department of NHS, Inc. Also new to NHS/Santa Cruz Snowboards is Holly Anderson. She joins the in-house crew working on sales and distribution for snowboards.

Kip Pitou has been named president of Ski Utah, the marketing arm of the Utah Ski Association. The former president, Mark Menlove is now the marketing director for premier resorts in Park City.

Columbia Sportswear Company welcomes Jose Garcia as senior designer of Columbia’s Convert Board Apparel line. He will report directly to Outerwear Design Director Robyn Hall who recently joined the company as well.

Auclair Sports, Inc., the U.S. division of Paris Glove, introduces Allen Bilson as the new vice president of sales.

Capital Distribution has restructured its sales force in California. Brad Kingsley has been promoted to in-house sales manager for all Capital brands. He will oversee all in-house sales service people as well as sales reps. Greg Othus is now the western regional sales manager. He will oversee sales in all of California, Arizona, and Nevada. He will handle San Diego county for all Capital brands exclusively, as well as teaming up with Matt Walls to cover Orange County. Othus can be reached at: (949) 369-4910. Walls will be covering the rest of Southern California, including Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties exclusively for all brands. He can be reached at: (310) 374-4630.

After seven years with DNR Sportsystem Ltd. the International Sales Manager Marcel Näpflin is leaving the company. DNR would like to thank Näpflin for his dedication and outstanding performance with the company throughout his employment. An announcement revealing his replacement will be released shortly.

Patrick Rosier, former vice president of marketing for Walt Disney Attractions in Europe, has been named to the newly created position of president, Bollé Europe. He will have full responsibility for Bollé’s European sales, marketing, and manufacturing operations, including supervision of the company’s manufacturing base in Oyonnax, France.

MLY Snowboarding has signed Brad Scheuffele to its pro team. This is the first step in MLY’s new team based philosophy. Expect more announcements to come soon.

Chuck Allen, longtime leader in the snowboard and surf industry, has moved to the New Mountain High resort in Southern California. His duties include coordinating and producing all events and promotions, securing sponsorships, and developing new snowboard programs. Most recently, Allen held the position of snowboard and marketing manager for Bear Mountain.

Este introduces Keith Wilson as its new team manager. Wilson has twelve years of experience under his belt. Reach him at: (408) 461-5080; or e-mail: [email protected]

Tom Wohrman recently closed up his snowboard shop, Board Outlet, in Big Bear, California and relocated to Calabasas to take on the duties as sales rep for Jaysport’s Kemper line. He will be focusing mainly on the international market, doing some U.S. regions and working with Kemper’s other rep, Tony King.

Penn Fibre and Specialty Company, Inc. announces the appointment of Colleen A. McAndrews as territory manager in the sales department.

Silence Snowboards welcomes professional snowboarder Dale Rehberg to its quickly growing team. Silence will be using Rehberg’s expertise in the sport and industry of snowboarding to help with R&D.

Seth Neary was named as Nitro Snowboards new team manager. He will continue riding for the company as well.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort announced that Thomas Spangler will assume the position of general manager for the resort, working under the direction of President Jerry Blann. Other announcements, Rick Dow has been promoted to food and beverage director, overseeing the entire food and beverage operations.

Jamie Meiselman has been named Burton’s soft boot product manager. He had previously worked for Generics and Blax.