>Okemo Earns Awards + Accolades

For release at will

Winter 2009/2010

Contact: Bonnie MacPherson, director of public relations
Okemo Mountain Resort | 77 Okemo Ridge Road | Ludlow, VT 05149
802-228-1947 | bmacpherson@okemo.com

OKEMO EARNS AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

LUDLOW, Vt. - And the award goes to ... the envelope, please  ...Okemo Mountain Resort!

It is a tremendous honor to receive high ratings from magazine-subscriber surveys and published Top Ten lists. It is another thing to be recognized by industry organizations and professional peer groups. Okemo has recently reaped the rewards of both.

Silver Eagle
Okemo received the prestigious Silver Eagle Award for Environmental Education. The National Ski Areas Association annually recognizes resorts' efforts to preserve and protect winter playgrounds. Okemo was selected in 2009 for developing innovative ways to engage guests and employees. Okemo Mountain Resort has made environmental education a central part of its operations through programs like Valley Quest, an award-winning, place-based education program that uses treasure hunts to celebrate community, natural history, cultural sites, stories and special places. Okemo is developing two new quests to explore the nature of the mountain environment and the historic farmstead that surrounds the Jackson Gore base area. Okemo's full-time environmental scientist handles a number of tasks including permitting, environmental compliance and sustainability.  He established the Environmental Committee at Okemo (ECO) to bring together the experience and enthusiasm of staff and to foster ideas in sustainability.  Adopting the motto "Taking big steps to a smaller footprint," ECO meets monthly and brings together staff from diverse departments to discuss and form plans to implement environmental initiatives.

Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State
Okemo Mountain Resort's Jackson Gore Inn was designated a Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State by the environmental business partnership between the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Small Business Development Center.  This designation is based on the Inn's voluntary commitment to sound environmental excellence through the placement and achievement of high environmental standards.  The Jackson Gore Inn is one of 64 Green Hotels to earn the distinguished designation. Through this program, Vermont's lodging properties are recognized for their use of sound environmental management practices to reduce their impacts on the environment, save in operational expenses, and satisfy customer demand for environmentally conscious lodging establishments. At the Jackson Gore Inn, environmental goals are being achieved by using eco-friendly building materials, reducing energy dependency, and minimizing pollution.  The resort's recycling program has increased its reach by reducing the waste of recyclable materials in guest facilities and staff offices, and has further plans to expand its single-stream recycling program at Jackson Gore this winter season.  Other green actions include offering overnight guests the option to reuse towels and linens in an effort to help conserve water; cleaning with eco-friendly supplies to reduce environmental toxins; replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lighting to reduce energy use. 

NSAA Safety Award
The National Ski Areas Association named Okemo Mountain Resort winner of the Best Helmet Safety Program in its annual Heads Up National Ski Area Safety Awards. Nine resorts were recognized in different safety program categories and Okemo was the only New England resort to receive honors. Each season, the awards recognize those resorts that have done an outstanding job of educating employees and guests about skiing and snowboarding responsibly. "One of our main goals here at Okemo is ensuring safe and responsible skiing and riding," says Okemo Ski Patrol Director Jim Livingston. "Safety First" is a mantra for Okemo staff members throughout the winter season, but it is during the annual NSAA Safety Awareness Week, in January, that Okemo turns its commitment to safety into a full-blown event. In addition to organizing discounts on helmets purchased at Okemo's Snowsports Shops during Safety Week, Okemo Events Coordinator Jeff Alexander plans a host of fun events and activities to help educate skiers and riders of all ages and promote on-mountain safety. Activities include a Skier Responsibility Code Safety Scavenger Hunt and a Helmet Head contest that celebrates that cool, disheveled look of matted hair that happens when a skier or snowboarder removes his helmet after a great day on the slopes. Photos of contestants are posted on the resort's website and winners are determined by popular vote. Vermont's own PHAT team (Protect Your Head at All Times/Protect Your Head on All Terrain) makes several personal appearances at Okemo throughout the season. The Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, a partnership of Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont College of Medicine help educate skiers and riders about helmet use.

Vermont Travel Industry Conference Governor's Award for Marketing Excellence
The Vermont Travel Industry Conference is one of the largest gatherings of tourism professionals in the state including owners, managers and employees of the many businesses connected to this important segment of the economy. Awarded annually during the conference, The Governor's Award for Marketing Excellence  recognizes a tourism-related business, region, or association that has shown a clear understanding of the Vermont brand and has successfully incorporated it into one or more marketing initiatives.  Entries were reviewed and judged on the following criteria:  strategy, creativity, innovation, results and brand. This year the award was presented to Okemo Mountain Resort for their "Art of" campaign, which highlighted Okemo's key brand pillars of Snow, Grooming, Service, Family, Terrain and Lifestyle as art forms.

Magazine Top Picks
In its annual Top 50 Reader Resort Survey, SKI named Okemo Mountain Resort one of the top 10 resorts in the East, and one of the best for grooming (second), snow (fourth), service (fifth), family programs (fifth), service (fifth), on-mountain food (sixth), terrain parks (sixth), weather (seventh), lifts (eighth) and access (ninth).  Okemo finished in the top 20 in nine additional categories on the survey.

New to the resort-ranking game in 2008, Skiing introduced resort awards that included Okemo in the Readers' Choice for Best of the East! Okemo placed ninth, and was one of seven Vermont resorts to make the grade.

In last year's Transworld Snowboarding Resort Poll, the magazine awarded special East Coast props in three categories. Okemo ranked second in Top Five East Coast Resorts. Okemo grabbed the second spot again in Top Five East Coast Pipes, and took fourth place in Top Five East Coast Parks.

For more information about awards and accolades bestowed upon Okemo Mountain Resort, visit Okemo.com or call (802) 228-1600.

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