By John Stouffer

February 25, 2000

Awards Corner

The resort industry loves its awards, and the NSAA International Convention and Trade show is the place where many of the awards are presented. This year was no exception.

Gunny Presented A Sammy Chris "Gunny" Gunnarson was one of four resort industry personnel to be presented with a Sammy Future Leadership Award at a dinner held in San Francisco, California. The award was presented by Ski Area Management Magazine Co-Publisher David Rowan, who created the Sammy award last year to honor individuals whose strong, innovative leadership at mid-career show exciting promise for even more accomplishments in the future.

Gunny was awarded the Sammy for keeping Snow Summit, where he is snowboard director, in the forefront of the resort market with innovative park designs, advertising, and customer relations. This is important considering snowboarding accounts for 60 percent of Snow Summit’s business.

Also awarded were Tom Fortune, general manager at Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho; Dave Barry, Copper Mountain’s vice president; and Resort Sports Network President Rory Strunk.

In a surprise move, Rowan’s staff awarded him a size-25 shoe, representing the big shoes he’s filled in the industry for many years. He was greeted by a standing ovation.

Cleary Presented Sherman Adams Award The National Ski Areas Association Special Counsel David Cleary was presented the Sherman Adams Award at the NSAA national convention in San Francisco, California. The Sherman Adams Award is named after the former governor of New Hampshire and Loon Mountain founder who was an avid supporter of the ski industry. It’s presented annually to an individual from the eastern United States who has significantly influenced and contributed to the industry.

Cleary, the NSAA special counsel for the past twenty years, has played a significant role in advising the NSAA board on legal issues that have run a full gamut, including issues related to federal land, tort and contractual liability, supplier and member relations, state law, and NSAA’s corporate legal issues.

McCoy and Kohnstamm Presented Lifetime Achievement Awards The National Ski Areas Association presented its Lifetime Achievement Awards to Timberline Ski Area Chairman Richard Kohnstamm and Mammoth Founder Dave McCoy. The awards were given out before the keynote address to kick off the NSAA Convention.

Kohnstamm began operating Timberline in 1955 and is known as the father of American summer skiing. He helped save Timberline Lodge, a national historic landmark, which is located on the south side of Mt. Hood in Oregon.

McCoy has turned Mammoth Mountain into one of the largest snow resorts in the country. The resort has 28 lifts, three day lodges, four hotel properties, three restaurants, a large maintenance facility, and much more. McCoy has teamed with Intrawest, which is investing an estimated 500-million dollars for a master plan that will transform Mammoth into a year-round destination resort. –J.S.