Season Preview All of our teams have been hard at work planning for the upcoming season. The annual Region OEC Refresher is scheduled for September 24 th at Gaylord High School. We will follow the same format as last year with the Instructor Refresher in the morning followed by the General Refresher starting with Registration at 11:30 and the kickoff meeting at 12:30. Calendar Central Division Fall Meeting September 9-11 Gaylord Refresher Registration late fee begins September 18. Gaylord Refresher Advanced Registration ends September 22 Gaylord Refresher September 24 Fall Board Internet Meeting September 27 @ 7:00PM Senior Kickoff Internet Meeting October 12 @ 7:00 Mountain Travel and Rescue Class @ Schuss October 22 Senior Applications due to PD December 10 Approved Senior Applications due to Chris Sutton, Region Senior Program Advisor December 15 Outdoor Emergency Care Module of the Senior Program (OEC MSP) Clinic at Otsego December 17 Note move to December Midwest Ski Areas Association The annual meeting of ski area owners and operations is held to update and train resort management and staff on current trends, industry standards and legal issues. I was fortunate to be included in the Shanty Creek Resorts delegation and again found it very interesting. I attended all of the risk management and legal issues sessions to broaden my understanding of how our services impact our resorts. Several of the sessions featured a panel of attorneys that represent Midwest Ski Areas including resorts from northern and upper Michigan. Again this year a key point was documentation - “we can’t defend you if it’s not documented”. They also emphasized the need to preserve the scene of “catastrophic accidents” until a full investigation is done. Each of our areas will have a procedure for incident scene investigation that may or may not include the patrol. Our role, no matter the procedure, is to recognize the catastrophic nature of an incident and to notify management that “this one may need investigation” while preserving the scene. Both Insurance companies and attorneys emphasized the need for photos especially in terrain park, lift, over snow vehicle, and other facility incidents. The Marquette Mountain case was discussed at length. Attorneys are waiting permission to file an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. As we discussed at the spring meeting, the Michigan Court of Appeals had overturned a lower court ruling that the area had met state and industry standards for closing a feature in a terrain park. The recommendation for us is to check with our management for possible updated feature closing procedures until the case is finally resolved. The legal/insurance panel also suggested that resorts review lift closing procedures. The recommendation came from a suit resulting from both the patrol and lift operator missing a rider who
rode around the bull wheel and was stranded on the lift when it was stopped for the night. The operator was raking their ramp and the patrol was talking with a patron who didn’t know how to get to his condo for the lift. A search was launched some time later and the long rider was found with significant injury after jumping from the lift and dragging themselves to the intersection of two runs. In a general session National Ski Area’s Association Executive Director, Michael Berry, reminded us that our sport is one of very few sports that are life changing for participants. For proof, he asked how many GoPro’s you see on the golf course. Technoalpin introduced their Snow Factory that can make snow at virtually any temperature. It was used to keep a terrain park training facility in the west open with fresh snow in 90-degree weather this summer. Will one of our resorts opt for summer skiing? I didn’t find any of our managers rushing to buy one but you never know. 2017 Central Division Meeting The core committee asked for theme and logo ideas for the 2017 Central Division Meeting. All entries were reviewed and a decision has been reached. Quoting from the submission: Northern Michigan is a place where people (patrollers in this case) can come to: REFRESH ... escape the daily routines and miles of suburbia EXPLORE ... much to explore - woods, lakes, golf, small towns, nature near its purest form ENHANCE ... using this exhilarating environment to ENHANCE ourselves (through the CD Meeting) ... meet friends, network, learn new things With that all said, I have taken a cue from our "Pure Michigan" tourism campaign and have it play on our little piece of heaven in Northern MI. So here's a suggested theme that I believe we can build upon for the CD Meeting: Refresh, Explore, Enhance ... PURE North ” Thanks to Dave Germond and Brandon Gualdoni of Schuss Mountain for the winning theme and logo submission.
Region Shirts ARD John Wiley and Proficiency Supervisor Annaka Norris suggested making Region Shirts available to Instructors. While we were working with an embroidery company to develop logo ware offerings for the CD 2017 Meeting, we developed a concept for region Polo and Ski Shirts with an updated region logo. The base shirt has the new NMR logo on the left chest and can be customized with your name and title or instructor status on the right chest. I’d like to offer these to the region through the WEB Site store at cost. Short Sleeve ($26 to $30 depending on size Plus $6 For Name and $2 for title) Silk Touch Performance Polo wicks moisture, resists snags and thanks to PosiCharge technology, holds onto its color for a professional look that lasts. 4-ounce, 100% polyester double knit with PosiCharge technology V-neck with Johnny collar Self-fabric collar; Tag-free label Set in, open cuff sleeves Double-needle sleeve cuffs and hem Long Sleeve Ski Shirt ($44to $48 depending on size Plus $6 For Name and $2 for title) An extremely flexible layer with a soft-brushed backing and moisture control for year round comfort. 90/10 poly/spandex jersey Tag-free label, Cadet collar Tapered neck, Raglan Sleeves Open cuffs and hem Dick Jacques Northern Michigan Region Director