Hey MMC! We hope you all are having a fantastic summer. Thank you to everyone who attended our town hall meeting in June and a special thank you to Meredith Skimson for hosting and guiding us through some complicated and productive conversation. Apologies for the delay in providing this memo which will focus on summarizing the discussion and its outcomes. Here we go!
How did we get here?
- Ski hill operating expenses have grown by 45% since the 2019-2020 season (pre-pandemic).
- We maintained and increased our general operating revenues and saw a slight increase in skier visits in 2022-2023 compared to 2021-2022.
- Unfortunately, the ski hill operated at a loss during the 2022-2023 season. We could not make up for the loss of pandemic government subsidies combined with uncontrollable increases to expenses.
- Wages (44% increase since 19-20)
- Insurance ( 130% increase since 19-20)
- Fuel (102% increase since 19-20)
How do we fix it?
- We recognize that we cannot simply continue to increase ticket prices to make ends meet.
- Through our membership survey and following the recommendation of our pricing committee, a reduction of operating days to 4 per week was recommended and adopted by our board of directors.
- Even with the reduction in operating days, the ski hill is looking at needing to make up a considerable estimated shortfall.
- Increases to minimum wage will impact our expenses most significantly (approximatley 6% increase over last year).
- Insurance (expecting an increase between 10 and 30%).
- Fuel (expecting 10% increase by winter).
- Multifaceted approach to making up shortfall
- New programming aimed building skier base
- New facility rental opportunities with night tubing in early December
- New products such as the Tubing Season Pass, and Co-op Doggy Pass.
- Developing and monetizing our non-lift operating day uphill program which will allow us to:
- Develop a better sense of community between the uphill hill users and regular chairlift users.
- Provide your input on the topic here: Uphill User Survey
- Establish safe travel practices within the area boundary and ensure people are aware of them
- Properly manage risk and liability through pass purchase and waivers
- Recover existing costs and help keep the ski hill viable.
- Develop a better sense of community between the uphill hill users and regular chairlift users.
How can you get involved?
- Learn about our story! It took some incredibly dedicated individuals a lot of hard work to get us to where we are today. We need to keep that spirit going! Shames is still a not for profit venture. Membership is our strength! Lots of great ideas came through via the feedback survey and we appreciate this so much. We all need to keep these ideas pumping but more than that, we need initiative and tangible ways to transform creative ideas into sustainable solutions.
- Volunteer! We have two of our primary fundraising events coming up in the next couple of months and we need volunteers for both! The TERRACE golf scramble is on August 19th and the PRINCE RUPERT golf scramble is on September 24th. Email [email protected] to get involved.
- Volunteer! We need a few people to help organize the AGM this year. Please email [email protected] to put your name in the hat.
- Join the board! We have two very important positions coming up this year. Both Evan van Dyk and Dave Gordon will be leaving the board after five full years of service (per our co-op rules, this is the maximum consecutive term). Dave and Evan have contributed immensely over the past five years and we are looking for individuals with grant writing experience and knowledge of finance to fill their shoes. Please reach out if you would like to know more. Role descriptions are included below. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Treasurer (email [email protected] for more details)
It is the role of the Treasurer to provide financial oversight and strategic financial planning to ensure the fiscal health and sustainability of the cooperative. The Treasurer works closely with the management team, engaging in discussions about budgeting, financial reviews, and decision-making processes regarding the budget.
- Core responsibilities include:
- Assisting the management team in creating an annual budget, continuously updating and refining it based on new information throughout the year.
- Conducting brief, monthly check-ins with the office to review the current financial status and trends.
- Engaging in a more in-depth review of the financials at the end of the fiscal year, scrutinising any significant deviations from the budget.
- Presenting the financials to the board of directors and stakeholders at regular intervals and during annual meetings.
- Participating in decision-making processes related to the budget, including pricing decisions.
- Attending monthly executive meetings (1hr) prior to monthly board meetings
- Attending monthly board meetings (~2hrs)
Grant Lead (email [email protected] for more details)
This individual will be supported by a subcommittee (non board members welcome!) to seek and apply for grants and other funding opportunities. Previous experience in grant writing would be helpful. You would work closely with our management team and board members as projects are scoped and prioritized.
- Core responsibilities include:
- Leading a subcommittee to ensure deadlines are met
- Participating in discussion around project scoping and budgeting
- Attending monthly board meetings (~2hrs)
- Seeking out grants and funding opportunities
EVENTS
- August 12th – Blueberry Festival
- August 15th – End of extension to the Super Early Bird Pass Sale
- August 19th – Terrace Golf Scramble ***SOLD OUT***
- September 24th – Prince Rupert Golf Scramble
- September 26th – AGM
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Enjoy the sunshine, MMC! Thanks for reading.