ORDA's Biggest Wins

[jamesdeluxe]

how poorly Hunter is run compared to Belle

I used to ski a fair amount in the Cats and before Hunter was sold by the original owners and before Belle joined ORDA, most people would have said the exact opposite. IIRC, Belle wasn't necessarily poorly run; rather, the DEC didn't provide sufficient support. Most of the state ski money flowed to the ADKs.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I'd like to hear how you would run ORDA.

1. Governance - have real board meetings. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but they don't ask challenging questions to Pratt. And he doesn't report to the board in terms of time, scope, resources, quality and risk.
2. Better - or at least existing - program management. ORDA is littered with projects that are not cohesive.
3. Data driven decisions. RFID at all lifts. Understand use, traffic patterns and embed this into decision making.
4. User input and follow up. As is done in software development, have a user group. That means gathering requirements from users (e.g. skiers), prioritize and deliver. Have an annual wine and cheese in the fall for those stakeholders (e.g. pass holders, local businesses) to show what you've delivered, explain the constraints under which you work. This is very inexpensive, but important. Like a pro sports team, people are invested and feel they have an ownership stake due to the time and emotional effort they put in.

Sure, this comment is mainly for the 3 ski areas, but I don't see how better governance, integrated/data driven decision making and user input will ever fail.

 

[3dogs]

1. Governance - have real board meetings. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but they don't ask challenging questions to Pratt. And he doesn't report to the board in terms of time, scope, resources, quality and risk.
2. Better - or at least existing - program management. ORDA is littered with projects that are not cohesive.
3. Data driven decisions. RFID at all lifts. Understand use, traffic patterns and embed this into decision making.
4. User input and follow up. As is done in software development, have a user group. That means gathering requirements from users (e.g. skiers), prioritize and deliver. Have an annual wine and cheese in the fall for those stakeholders (e.g. pass holders, local businesses) to show what you've delivered, explain the constraints under which you work. This is very inexpensive, but important. Like a pro sports team, people are invested and feel they have an ownership stake due to the time and emotional effort they put in.

Sure, this comment is mainly for the 3 ski areas, but I don't see how better governance, integrated/data driven decision making and user input will ever fail.

Did you send your resume downtown?

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Did you send your resume downtown?

Hahaha! That's great!

 

[Harvey]

I'd like to hear how you would run ORDA.

I was asking X because, while he is very critical, I can never tell if he wishes they didn't get the investment from NY that they do. Or if it is just that he wishes they got the investment 20 years earlier.

That said I am interested in all input.

 

[Peter Minde]

I've only attended 1 ORDA board meeting, back when Ted Blazer ran the joint.

In my experience having served on a school board, the hard questions get discussed at committee level, then at the board meeting, the committee chair goes, "we recommend x" and the whole board discusses / votes on the recommendation.

That having been said, I hope to attend more ORDA meetings once I move north. In my observation, a quite close-mouthed organization. Even more now than when Blazer was the head.

 

[tirolski]

That said I am interested in all input.

Pratt is a leader & has good experience.IMO.
Running ORDA is like herding cats in the mountains in a regulated environment with the lawyers watching.
Sometimes ORDA gets thrown some big bones...especially recently.

 

[x10003q]

I was asking X because, while he is very critical, I can never tell if he wishes they didn't get the investment from NY that they do. Or if it is just that he wishes they got the investment 20 years earlier.

That said I am interested in all input.

The only way to get ORDA to help North Creek is to reconstitute the ORDA Board. ORDA was established July, 1981. For over 41 years, the ORDA Board has has not followed its mandate to improve the economy of the area in and around the North Creek.

Currently, there are 12 ORDA Board members including the chairperson. There are 4 members representing the area in and around Lake Placid and only 1 member representing the Warren County which includes North Creek. Even Belleayre now has 3 members representing the area in and around Bellayre. The 3 other members represent Empire State Development, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and Department of Environmental Conservation. The Chairperson, Joe Martens, is number 12.

The ORDA Board, as it is currently set-up, has conflicting mandates as Gore/North Creek is in direct conflict with Whiteface/Lake Placid for skier visits. Until the ORDA Board is reset, NYS will continue to plow millions of dollars into Gore, yearly visits will remain stagnant (like they have been for 20 plus years) and the North Creek area will continue to suffer economically.

 

[Brownski]

Interesting. Truthfully, ORDA’s mission should be to promote skiing in NYS overall, including privately owned hills

 

[x10003q]

Interesting. Truthfully, ORDA’s mission should be to promote skiing in NYS overall, including privately owned hills

They cannot even promote skiing at Gore properly. How could they ever promote skiing in NYS overall?