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« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » New Colorado Ski Country CEO Optimistic, Ready For ChallengesBy Craig Altschul 
That portfolio expanded considerably in June when Mills was named President and CEO. She is the first of her nine predecessors to rise through the ranks to the top job, and the first woman to guide what long has been among the industry's strongest trade associations. She is undaunted on both scores. Here's what she told The Industry Report. On losing Vail Resorts: "Our budget was reduced and, like any organization faced with a change like that, we made the necessary adjustments. We reorganized our staff, refocused our spending, and have spent the summer and fall promoting our current members, programs, and other initiatives. "We are ahead of budget and I am incredibly proud of how hard-working and creative our staff has been and continues to be. We have 22 members that are very important to us, and supporting them is what we have been focusing on. "Some time needs to pass before Vail Resorts looks at returning to the association," she said. One effect: Vail Resort properties are conspicuous by their absence on the CSC resort location map distributed by the association. It is indeed "members only." On the sinking economy: "If history is a guide, skiers are a more resilient sector of the leisure travel market than most. So we are keenly aware that the season ahead holds some unknowns or some unpredictability. But, we will work with our members and the Colorado Tourism Office to encourage folks to get here and ski. We'll stay flexible and adjust our plans as needed as the season unfolds." All of which begs the question of how CSC's priorities shake out. What's number one? Marketing? Public Affairs? Communications? "We're actually balancing all three things," she explains. "The main area where our budget has been reduced is in national print advertising, which is a big dollar arena as everyone knows. "We're lucky to have the Colorado Tourism Office with $21 million annually to spend in that arena, so we've been working closely with the state with regard to their winter advertising campaign, including the ski images in that campaign. As an association, we continue to market the Colorado brand of skiing via radio, online, and interactive marketing, and through promotions with key partners. "It is very important to our members that we are active in promoting the Colorado brand of skiing - the strongest brand there is in our sport." She said the level of activity can't be measured in those three departments by budget allotments. Public policy, she notes, involve primarily "man" power, while marketing and communications require spending in different ways. "We and our members think we have an excellent balance. We are a well-managed, lean business operation, and a very productive one, I might add." Mills has represented the Colorado ski industry on a number of gnarly issues over her years since leaving a Washington, D.C., law firm for the Rocky Mountain life. She said two of the more persistent issues are I-70, the skiers' highway from the Front Range to many mountain resorts, and workforce issues, particularly those related to international employees and visas. Both, she noted, require rather infinite patience. "One of the realities of working in the public policy arena is that complex problems or issues do not get resolved quickly because there are many players involved and everyone wants to put their stamp on resolving the issue," she says. "So the art of compromise is always at play with these big, hard-to-resolve issues. "You have to stay at the table no matter how frustrating it gets, and no matter how many times administrations change. You just keep your shoulder to the wheel and when you look back over time, you do see progress." She said large-scale improvements to the I-70 corridor will take time because there is "a real dearth of money for large transportation projects. It also will mean resolving the larger issue of how we fund transportation infrastructure when gas taxes are a declining revenue stream." The good news on that front, she added, is there is now a plan in place for moving ahead. "In the nearer term, we are at least having an excellent broad dialogue about some bus service on that corridor, some additional truck parking, more carpooling, etc." CSC has several programs that have been major successes. She said both the 5th and 6th Grade Passports and GEMS (a focus on a group of nine resorts described as "off the beaten path," or "hidden treasures") continue to thrive. "We are very proud of these programs," she told us. "CSC was the first organization to offer a 5th grade pass and the program has been emulated in many ski states across the country. We think that is fantastic for the kids and the industry as a whole. In terms of retention, we see a lot of kids who took advantage of the 5th grade pass come back and take advantage of the 6th grade pass. That tells us they are interested in the sport. "We do know that families really re-engage in the sport after that 5th grade year and that we are doing two things - introducing some new participants to the sport and re-engaging guests and families who will be core participants for, hopefully, their lifetimes." Mills is just as bullish on the GEMS program. "It's a win-win initiative for those resorts and us. They benefit from the added exposure of being part of a separate branding program with specific advertising and promotions. We get to have them under the CSC umbrella and promote them both as a collective group of unique ski areas and as individual quintessential Colorado resorts. " GEMS include A-Basin, Echo, Eldora, Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, SolVista, and Sunlight. Mills sees opportunities on the horizon. "It's an exciting time to be in the ski industry. It's more and more a global business with increasing numbers of visitors coming to the U.S. from overseas to experience our resorts. The constant evolution of equipment and resort infrastructure is making the industry more dynamic each year. "The recent focus of families to get back to nature and unplug is a trend we hope will continue. "One of the biggest challenges facing our industry in the long-term is global warming. Colorado's high altitude gives us a bit more of a buffer than other regions may see. We are hopeful that the next occupant of the White House will show real leadership on this issue and that the United States will be part of a global effort to address it," she said. What It Means: CSC took a financial hit and perhaps lost some "face" when Vail Resorts pulled out. But, Mills and her staff seem undeterred and determined to take what comes. One Colorado resort executive (who shall remain nameless) once told me, "Look, you can't mess up (ok, he used a different phrase) Colorado. There's nothing better." CSC isn't about to do it. « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » Comments
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Posted by: dgo dgo | November 3, 2008 04:04 PM
