Welcome to the 2011/12 ski season and thank you for your continued support! We are looking forward to this coming year being even better than last year. The BBSEF BOD and staff have been busy in the off season with a few projects and strategic changes with an eye on the future intended to improve the program for many years to come. With the growth in our membership last year our coaching staff grew considerably. A key goal of BBSEF is to provide quality coaches to all levels of our program. With growth comes the need for a more organized approach to communication, staff coordination and infrastructure improvements.
To support better coordination/communication amongst staff and Bogus Basin the BOD added the duties of Athletic Director to Kenny Corrock’s duties as Head Alpine Coach. Kenny is a true ski industry veteran with the experience necessary to lead our program for many years to come. Kenny’s Athletic Director duties are to oversee all aspects related to athletic and equipment needs of our program for both Alpine and Freeride thus providing a single point of contact for Bogus Basin Mountain Resort regarding the on hill needs of our participants. Kenny will also support Shannon with fundraising needs as well. Kenny’s years of experience and expertise has afforded him with a direct line of communication with the U.S. Ski Team, therefore he will guide our Alpine program structure and training curriculum to ensure alignment with U.S. Ski Team philosophy. Kenny will be coordinating the Alpine needs of the program with input from an excellent line up of coaches that includes veteran varsity coaches Brett Troyer and Larry Duke, Aaron Flynn and Katie Sawaya. Chuck Combs is returning to lead our mitey mite program along with Clint Sparks. Brian Walp will be leading the North Series Travel Team. Terry Sevy is returning as our safety coordinator. We have a large and diverse group of varsity skiers this year thanks in large part to efforts of Brett Troyer over the years. Brett has been instrumental in setting the foundation for a group of high achieving varsity skiers; we’re looking forward to seeing BBSEF varsity skiers take home some hardware this year. Please join me in cheering these young men and women on!
Josh Loubek is returning as Head Coach for Team Shred and we are excited for year number two under Josh’s leadership. Josh also is on the front lines with the U.S. Ski Team as Josh has been tasked by International Ski Federation to develop the judging criteria for slopestyle events at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Josh is working on developing a travel circuit for our advancing freeride shredders to take their skills to the next level. Kenny will coordinate the training needs in alignment with Josh Lubeck’s vision for Team Shred with Bogus Basin management to give our kids the best opportunity to hone their freeriding skills.
Shannon Carrell will continue to serve as our Administrative Director/Do It All Person. As Administrative Director, Shannon is in charge of all office and fundraising operations for BBSEF. Shannon is in charge of the organizing the ski swap. The ski swap is our largest fundraiser and is critical to our ability to keep our program fees affordable. The ski swap is a significant undertaking and would not be possible without all those who volunteer to make this event a success. This event not only supports BBSEF financially but it also serves the community by enabling people to gear up for skiing and snowboarding in an affordable manner. Thanks to all who volunteered this year!
In addition to a commitment to a low overhead structure we are fortunate to have many volunteers helping us along the way. Key among those volunteers are Brett Troyer and Craig Naylor who volunteer their time as varsity coaches, Bobby Garrison who volunteers his time and equipment to perform timing at all our events, a dedicated BOD group and of course the parents of all the kids in the program. Thank you to everyone who volunteers for this program; your efforts make a huge difference!
To address our infrastructure needs we initiated several projects. First among them was to expand our coaches room at the Harper training center. With the growth in our coaching staff last year we outgrew our coach’s room. In order to retain and attract quality coaches we’ve expanded the coach’s room in the Harper Training Center. Thanks to the generous donations of the Winsauer family the new coach’s room will be named in their son Mack’s name. In addition to expanding the coach’s room the plumbing in the bathrooms has been fixed complete with new sinks. These improvements will yield an overall more efficient and organized facility allowing us to serve our customers better. The final improvement is for the kids; kids involved with the travel programs will have use of a boot dryer capable of handling up to 60 pairs of boots and the lockers in their locker rooms are being redone to better accommodate their equipment storage needs. Kenny Corrock and Katie Sawaya did much of the labor for these improvements along with many members from our varsity program. Come check these improvements out and join me in thanking Kenny and Katie for all their hard work.
In addition to the training center improvements we’ve been busy redoing our website. Brian Walp and Kathleen Brady have been working with a company so our website can be maintained and updated more efficiently. Our goal is to make this a more informative tool for our membership, staff and prospective new members. The website got up a running in September. The staff has been busy updating the site with content. If you have suggestions or comments, please contact Shannon, Kenny or Brian Walp.
Our last project is more behind the scenes but something we needed to do with the growth in our program. As our overall program has grown we needed to invest in the technology necessary to track and keep up with that growth so we’re implementing a new accounting system. This new system will help us manage our dollars to the best of our ability while keeping our overhead staff to a minimum so we can reinvest the majority of our dollars into programs and coaches that will benefit our membership.
In closing I had the great opportunity to meet the Harper family at our first brush cutting event. In speaking with them and explaining to them the current state of the program and the investments we were making in this program for the future, their gratitude was clearly evident. Our number one goal at BBSEF is to provide your child with a platform to experience the thrill of competitive skiing and along the way create some great memories for you and your child to share for a lifetime. After meeting the Harper family I am convinced more than ever that if we achieve that goal, we’ve done our job as an organization and that BBSEF will be teaching kids to race, shred, and have fun on snow for another 44 years. I can’t wait to see you all again … it’s ski time!
Sincerely,
Mike Sabin
President, BOD