Denise Sleeper: Gunstock Commission is micromanaging mountain staff

To The Daily Sun,

As an attendee at Wednesday night’s (almost five-hour) Gunstock Area Commission meeting, here are my take aways:

There are commissioners who are seeking to micro-manage versus provide oversight of the business operations. In spite of high customer satisfaction and the very profitable, successful last two years under the management of highly qualified and respected professionals, it appeared that the success of the management team was minimized to ... all ski areas saw an increase in revenue. It certainly seemed to minimize the tremendous skill and intricacy of management to balance profitability with providing a high level of customer satisfaction. This cannot be said for many other mountains which did not manage crowd capacity or groom trails to ensure optimal skiing and riding.

It also appeared, that in spite of operating through the pandemic, managing quarantine of staff exposed to COVID, and labor shortages across all industries, Gunstock was able to maintain and increase learning opportunities and revenue. It is a tremendous shout out to the snow sports management who successfully navigated these challenges, but were offered no respect or acknowledgement by the GAC for their tireless efforts and skills in what they accomplished. Instead, the snow sports management was provided with many suggestions to be explored during the GAC meeting versus having a discussion with the snow sports management at any time to exchange ideas and understanding of the snow sports operations.

Finally, although Gunstock has proven its profitability with being a year-round resort that needs to cater to the changing needs of the seasons and its’ customers, certain GAC members only seek to preserve their own experience. This was evident in the belabored discussion about the Stockade Lodge.

I commend Commissioner Jade Wood for maintaining her respectful and balanced representation while others disparaged their counterparts.

Denise Sleeper

Laconia