Partnerships

Building for the Future

BY ED YOUNGLOVE PSIA/AASI-NW PRESIDENT  

This is one of my last reports as president of PSIA/AASI-NW. I would like to take the opportunity to share a few parting thoughts about where we have been and where I think we need to go as an organization. PSIA/AASI-NW has been blessed throughout its history with dedicated, talented individuals with visions of what the organization should be. These volunteers have given a great deal of time and effort to the organization and are the reason the organization is where it is today.

The vice presidents for the education, technical and certification programs (ETC) have been the heart and soul of the organization. They have provided the vision and much of the work in developing the educational foundation for our organization. We have been lucky to have had the services of individuals with professional skills (accounting, business, technical, etc.) as officers and directors to provide the necessary supportive administrative services. We have also been fortunate to have had the long-time services of our office managers and staff. Their popularity with the membership is the result of the personalized, caring services they provide to each member they come in contact with. I am convinced the organization’s programs and services have never been of any higher quality or the membership better served than at the present time.

Despite this success, I believe we will need to look at other models for the way we do business as an organization. The technical revolution has vastly increased our ability to communicate with our members, but technical equipment and personnel with the skills to use it are increasingly expensive. Our membership (you) expects and deserves the best educational tools we can provide, and volunteerism and limited resources can take us only so far. We have already seen the huge benefits of having a professional, full-time Education & Programs Director. Paid professional services will stretch our financial resources, however.

As I have had increasing contacts with the other divisions and with national, I have come to realize the potential benefits of collaboration with them and our other industry partners. I believe that, in the future, we will need to increase that collaboration. Pooling resources, financial and personnel, magnifies many times our potential for developing quality products and services for the membership. Many times in the recent past, divisions and national have been replicating the same tools, or even worse, working at cross purposes. The divisional rivalry that I had often heard of is not much in evidence these days. I sense a commonality of purpose and a commitment among the divisional and national leadership to work together. As we move into the future, we will need to increasingly work in collaboration with other divisions and with national to unify our efforts. Economically, I think we will have to.

The snowsport industry appears to be thriving. At the same time, it and snowsport teaching also face a number of challenges. Clients demand instant gratification and are not content to learn to become proficient skiers or riders over a period of years. I think this is both a result and a cause of many advancements, such as shaped skis and fat skis, for example. The ranks of instructors are diminishing with the number of clients. Snowsport teaching is no longer “cool.” Our image is stodgy. The trial and error selftaught method seems to be the most popular way to learn, along with the “learn from a friend” method. The demographics of our membership, older, white skiers, runs counter to the general population trends of both more younger people and persons of color. We have been chasing the snowboarders to take lessons (or at least more than 1 lesson or even 1 season of lessons) for a number of years now. National’s “Go With A Pro” marketing is a concerted effort to market professional lessons. We will need to expose the fact that the “cool” people, the park and pipe, gap jumping, cliff hucking guys and gals, didn’t learn from a friend, and that they have coaches that they work with regularly. If you are on an airplane this season or at a resort, chances are you will see national’s new “Go with a Pro” video. I think this is the type of effort we are going to need to make in the future.

In my opinion, the organization does a great job of serving its membership’s educational needs. Even so, we are constantly looking for new and improved educational products and services for our members. We may, however, have to do a better job of participating with our industry partners in marketing skiing/riding lessons to the general public.

Serving as your president has been a true pleasure. The greatest part of the experience has been the opportunity to work with the officers, board members, staff and membership who share the same passion for sliding in the mountains.