Author Archives: benfok

What’s New in 21-22?

Before you submit your schedule, we would love to further explain some of the new items you will experience this season!

Then go here to submit a schedule for this winter.

The Word 10-20-18

Welcome back for the 2016-17 season!!

So what’s new?

Well, La Nina for one thing! So get ready for a wild one…

Jobs are up!
You can now start applying for winter positions! Minimum commitments start as low as 12 days for experienced Part Timers and 6 days for our new Intermittent status. Check out what else is new and when you are ready skip to the bottom for info on how to apply for the different positions…

Rentals and Snowsports School… together?!
Yep, we have merged the departments. Rentals will now report up to Ben along with Snowsports School. Our long term vision is a complete remodel of the Rental Shop next summer, but in the short term it means much more synergy, a better guest experience and job sharing opportunities for Full Timers. Don’t worry, we are not moving the locker room!

This has only just been confirmed in the last couple of weeks so we are still working through the implications and the leadership structure. More news as things unfold.

Full Time Instructor Incentive
Two big things are happening to the way Full Time Instructors are paid. First off, non-teach rate is no more for Full Timers. Instead you will be paid a Training Rate for all required pre-season and any in-season training, but everything else you do will be paid at your teach rate.

Secondly we recognize the challenge that comes with relying on this job as primary income, especially when you can’t rely on the work. Our new Full Timer Incentive means we will provide 4 hours mid-week and 8 hours on weekends and holidays to Full Time Instructors regardless of whether there are lessons or not. This equates to 28 hours per week if scheduled for 5 days, at teach rate.

Nobody else in the industry is doing this, but our belief is that if we want folks to consider instructing as a viable career option and a ‘real job’ we have to start treating it as one. All the details and parameters can be read about here

Kids Club and Kids Instructors
Kids Club will be splitting into two programs, 3-4 year olds and 5-6 year olds and we will be introducing snowboarding to both age groups.

The 5-6 year olds will operate as before but the 3-4 year olds will be restricted to half days only. They will also spend half the lesson doing indoor activities with indoor staff, so although an instructor will be responsible for 4 kids, he/she will only be outside with 2 at a time, making the ratio much more manageable.

We will also be specifically hiring Kids Instructors this season. These folks will work almost exclusively with 3-6 year olds between Youth Programs and Multi-weeks. In return for their energy and commitment to our youngest guests they will earn $0.25/hour extra.

There is not a separate job to apply for, you can just check the Kids Instructor box when you submit your schedule.

Freeride Coaches
As our D-Team grows so does our need for more coaching support. Tre and Steve Mac, our Head Coaches, will be hiring a select few Freeride Coaches to work with them this year coaching the D-Team athletes and working with the High Camp advanced classes. No experience is necessary to apply, but solid freeride/freestyle skiing/riding skills are required, as well as a gung-ho attitude towards gaining certs and experience relevant to coaching.

The scheduling will work a little differently to instructors, with the coaches working together as a team to cover the D-Team program needs, with little other obligations excect for helping out the school as much as possible over the Christmas period while the athletes take a break for holidays.

Interested folks should go here and there is a separate job to apply for on the website

Minimum Wage and Other Incentives 
What about everybody else? Well the mountain wide minimum wage is going up from $9.47 (or state minimum) to $10.25/hour. This is a major step for us.

We will also be offering a Retention Incentive alongside the Resort Incentive for guest experience score and visits. The Retention Incentive in it’s simplest terms means that if you commit to a schedule when we hire you and you honor that commitment and finish your employment in good standing, we’ll pay you $0.50/hour for every hour you worked from opening to closing date as an incentive. You can read the full version on our pay structure page here. This applies to all front-line employees not receiving PTO or sick time.

What else?
There are some other things in the works but more on those soon. For now, please let me know if you have any specific questionsAi??ben.fok@stevenspass.com otherwise here is the info you need to get going…

How to apply…

Please let us know if you have any questions or problems. Feel free to contact us at anytime snowsports@stevenspass.com. To help you with date selection and visualizing your winter as you work through submitting this form download the following calendar which shows the full winter season and highlights key date ranges.

Thanks, see you soon and Pray for SNOW!!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying your summer. It’s been a while so here’s a quick update of what’s been going on up at the mountain and ahead of next winter…

Bike Park is open!

Lifts have begun spinning for Bike Park operations this summer. We’re in the process of adding two new trails and expanding to add Thursdays for July and August. Jules explainsAi??all the details below or checkout the website. If you’ve never tried out the Bike Park, you should! It’s a great way to fill your feed your downhill addiction in the summer time. Hit us up if you’d like more information on how to make that happen!

Downhill Addiction…

Well there is another way to prolong the powder and that is to chase it around the world! Everyone has enjoyed following David and Alicia O’Donnell’s adventures and they’ve jetted off to Australia for the winter/summer/winter down there. David also started a blog about ski instruction after an enjoyable first season with us and 58 consecutive months on snow. Check it out!

PSIA/AASI Dues

It’s that time of year again. Don’t forget to renew your PSIA/AASI Membership dues by June 30th to avoid paying a late fee. You can take care of everything online psia-nw.org. If you became a member this year for your level 1 your membership may cover this coming season. We will continue to offer our Professional Development Reimbursement Program this winter, reimbursing up to $250 of educational expenses forAi??eligible folks.

Donation Requests

To help any of you who are involved with organizations who are interested in seeking donations from Stevens for an event, raffle etc. we now have a more formalized process that you can complete online. This will help your request get into the right hands. More details here

Conversion Cup Results…

For those that didn’t hear we were nominated in the Top 3 resorts in the country for the Conversion Cup this season. This is an annual industry award that recognizes a resort who has led the way in ‘converting’ first timers into skiers/riders. We didn’t win the award, that honor went to Wachusett Mountain, but just to make it that far was a huge testament to what we are doing and the efforts you are all contributing to. It gives us something to aim for next season!

Resort Update

Other than the Bike Park there are some pretty significant things happening. We have broken ground and begun work on a new parking lot just on the other side of the footbridge over the highway. The lot will handle around 250 vehicles and reduce the need to push parking as far offsite as the Nordic Center. The hope is not to park more cars to cram more people on the hill, but to create a better experience for those who we do park. We know that this is just one step of the process, and we are working on a longer term plan to improve the on-mountain experience with hopefully more to talk about in the coming months as we continue the difficult process of securing capital funding and Forest Service approval. There will also be more news soon on some improvements within the world of the Ski and Snowboard School so stay tuned!

The view before the cabins were removed…

Hi everyone! Spring is here but it sure feels like the middle of winter again with all this awesome new snow. Thank you guys for all your hard work and we hope you are sneaking some pow turns in too! Happy (early) St. Pattys Day– hope to see your green tomorrow!

CONGRATS….

To Alicia and David on your engagement!! Your Ski + SB school family is so excited to hear this news and so happy for you both 🙂

Last Nights Of Night Skiing

This Friday and Saturday, March 18-19th are the last nights for night operations, open until 10pm– take advantage of this and have a fun evening! We are also open until 6pm on Sunday 20th.

Party Plans!

It’s hard to believe, but next Saturday, March 26th will be our end of season party!! We’ll do BBQ after lessons are finished for the day and Ski + SB School awards. You can print the award list and fill one out, email your nominations to snowsports@stevenspass.com (see awards below) or just think on your nominations and fill out a ballot form from the locker room. Entries need to be submitted by 4:00pm Sunday, March 20th.

Return Student Bonus + Development Credits

Instructor return student bonus for the month of Feburary will be included on this week’s paycheck, Friday March 18th. This pay will be included in your incentive pay category. Updated development credit lists are posted in the locker room also.

Training Report

Every certified member of the NW Division is required to attend at least one educational event each season.Stevens Pass is bringing in PSIA-NW divisional staff members for day clinics in April. Snowboarders are Saturday April 9th and Skiers are Saturday April 2nd and Sunday April 17th. Be sure to request the day off and sign up in RTP right away, space in these clinics is limited.

Level 1 Skiers: Your exam begins at 8:00am Saturday. Plan to meet in the locker room and then find a quiet corner of the lodge to do the written stuff. You must have an approved day off and be signed up in RTP to participate in this exam. With the work schedule finalized, signups are closed. Forgot to sign up? Get in touch asap so we can see if we can free your schedule up so you can participate. Next exam is Saturday March 26^th.

Level 1 candidates: Our 8 week training program has been completed. If you have any final questions get with steve.frink@stevenspass.com and you will get answers. Go out this weekend with other exam candidates and practice your teaching segments/demos. Use this Level 1 Teaching checklist to be sure the segment will pass. Seen here for Snowboard and here for Skiers. The checklist is taken from the Level 1 exam process document and the Hot Seat questions are things the examiner may ask you after you have completed your teaching segment as described on the Level 1 Certification Process page.

Level 2/3 Skiers: Sean Bold will be here Saturday, Burrell will be here to Clinic Sunday

Level 2/3 Snowboarders: Steve Frink will be running a clinic Saturday for all snowboarders and Sunday you are on your own. Same as above.

Demo Sale

The rental shop has all demo skis and snowboards on sale now! Stop by and check them out as soon as possible. Demos are sold on a first come, first serve basis with no holds.

Kudos Board

“Best ski lessons ever!!!” (Instructor David Erickson)

“Brendan is an awesome instructor” (Guest Story Gorman)

I had 2 skiers and 1 snowboarder. They had a great day and are looking forward to returning. (Instructor Monique Bertino)

“Took a level 1 alpine cert prep series with Ken Will–Excellent teacher!”

Rachel was professional, polite and very efficient at completing the process to reserve a lesson. (Guest Olivia)

Hi everyone! Thanks again for your hard work this past week- remember this upcoming weekend is the end to our multi-week madness!

Multi-Week Programs

If you are in a multi-week program please remember you will need to fill out a report card for your students to evaluate their progress over the past 6 weeks. We are planning a fun game for the weekend too!

Return Students Party 

Thanks to everyone who helped out last Saturday for our western party- the costumes and chili were great! Our chili cook off winner was Karl J! Best cowboy and cowgirl went to Rachel J and Dylan B-P!

We’ve already passed 4,000 return students so we are already looking into planning our second party–keep the theme ideas coming party people!

Evening Lessons

This upcoming weekend is our last weekend for offering adult group lessons at 4pm for Friday’s and Sunday’s! Saturday’s will remain on a week-to-week basis. That being said–if any ski coaches would like to help out for one last Sunday 4:00-6:00pm lesson that would be awesome. Let us know if you can!

Training Update

Level 1 candidates  Dryland training this weekend a Come prepared (bring your books) to test your Professional and Technical knowledge — We will also go over any logistical questions you may have. Check out the instructor website Level 1 Certification Process Page for details. We are in week 7 of an 8 week program so you should be 87% through your exam preparations. If you aren’t you will have a lot of work to do in preparation for the exam next month. 2 ski exam options are the Saturday March 19^th or Saturday March 26^th and the snowboard exam will be Saturday March 26^th. Sign up in RTP, group sizes are limited. If you can’t make those dates let me know right away and we may be able to change them. Steve.frink@stevenspass.com

PSIA Reimbursement

Don’t forget when you reach 250 development credits you are eligible for your PSIA reimbursement for the season up to $250 in either textbooks and manuals, PSIA event fees, even annual dues. (Remember: 1 work hour = 1 development credit and 1 training hour = 2 development credits!)

Letter from Tim Merriam

A quick update from Tim- he sent this message to share with you all!

Kudos Board

“Kennan is awesome instructor. His explanations are very clear and informative. He showed me tips on my problems and it worked. ” (Customer: Anastasia)

“Krishnan was phenomenal!!!” (Customer: Aref)

“Josh is outstanding. We love taking lessons from him. He is positive, clear and provides the right amount of challenge for our girls.” (Customer: Emily)

“Jake was awesome, I feel like I progressed more in a 2 hour clinic, then in the last 3 years of riding.” (Customer: Jorge)

“Randy was excellent. He was humble and patient with us, and knew how to give specific feedback that improved our skill. i would take further lessons from him.” (Customer: Calvin)

“Julie V- she was great! It was fun and educational. She helped us out a lot!!” (Customer: Kayla)

“Jason Luck was awesome very knowledge and made it fun!” (Customer: Kelsey)

“I really appreciate Auna’s help at front desk in ski school. She is very nice and always helps us to arrange my daughter’s lessons based on our situation. ” (Customer: Isabelle)

The Argentian girls were GREAT!!!

Sunday Funday

The mountain is now open until 10pm every Sunday through the end of February!

*Reminder: Multiweek programs continue through this weekend then will be taking a break for the holiday President’s weekend. Don’t forget the Tye Creek Deli is serving breakfast for employees from 7:30-10:00am, for $0.35/ounce!

Weekend Craziness

As you all will have noticed, the snow this season is meaning visitation numbers are staying high and every weekend we are maxing out on the hill and in the parking lots. This is one of the factors that has led to guests arriving earlier and earlier to the resort which is now beginning to impact the morning commute to work, particularly on the west-side of the mountain. Please try to factor this in to your travel plans, and remember that employee transit is still free on weekends for those that want to avoid the hassle and stress of the traffic and driving up.

For the most part we are riding a rollercoaster that we need to see through to the end; given that many of our products, pricing and program commitments are set in stone now through the end of the season. Having said that we are past the peak and things typically slow down and open up on weekends once we reach the end of February. Moving forward into next season and beyond we would like to point out that there are a lot of discussions happening at a senior/executive level about what this pattern means for our business long term. We fully recognize that when we fill up to bursting at the seams, that the guest and employee experience suffers as a result and that we are looking to address the balance between volume and quality for both guests and employees for next year and beyond.

At this point there is nothing concrete to report, but please stay tuned for more new on this leading into the Spring.

Holiday Week Help

The next Holiday Period is creeping up on us. Monday February 15th is Presidents Day and man school districts are out for mid-winter break that Monday 15th – Friday 19th meaning our lesson volume will be much higher than a normal midweek.

Full Timers: As was defined when you were hired, the week of the Presidents Holiday is a holiday week and the expectation is that full timers are available to work 6 days. Please let us know if you would like to bank hours and add a 7th day, or if you have concerns about working 6 days. For those putting in extra time, please let us know if you would like an extra day off either the week before or after.

Part Timers: If anyone is interested in picking up additional hours mid-week Feb 15-19th please let us know. If you were interested in trading some shifts to have time off in March let us know…we’re open to bargaining!

Checking your Pay

if you’ve been wondering how to check your pay and your daily hours we now have a webpage explaining just how to do that. Please check out the page here

If you would like to track your Development Credits, Private Request Hours and Training Hours, to determine how this affects your earnings this is explained as well. These values will be input along with your pay on a bi-weekly basis. Please note that as of right now the values are correct up to 1/3/2016. We were hoping to do another update this week but have been delayed due to technical reasons! We will let you know once we have got this up and running again.

The page also outlines how to print physical copies of Paystubs and W2 forms.

Please let us know if you have any questions about how to interpret the information. We apologize that there are a few different systems to work with, unfortunately that is the nature of how payroll works at Stevens.

Return Students

As a school we are currently at 2,900 return students through Jan 31st! Once we hit 3,000 we will be planning a fun celebration! Your return student bonus for the season to date is included on this weeks pay check! Remember: $1 per return student–motivation to turn in your class cards at the end of the day and write your name legibly.

We Won the Snow Sculpture Contest!

Thanks for everyone that helped out with our sculpture– we won a $100 SnoDough for the school, which will be used for a future employee party! Just more proof that we are the coolest department on the mountain 😉

Things We Need In The Locker Room?

If you are noticing something that would be helpful in the locker room or anything we should replace or purchase to make your lives easier and the locker room more functional please let us know!

Kudos Board

Lots of awesome feedback this week. Here is just a few of the highlights including the name of the guest if any of them made an impression on you!

Your instructors for the youth (Child’s 3-6 yrs old) are great! My child felt comfortable and was able to learn in a fun inviting environment!  – Tom

Monique the instructor was perfect for our kids. She was fantastic.  – Josh

“Hannah was a great instructor and the first one who was actually able to help me figure out what the problem was and why I was having so much difficulty mastering turns ” – Sarah

“Trent was fantastic and very friendly. Helped me learn a lot in a very short time. ” – Ted

“Jason Luck made the class entertaining and fun. He’s very patient and nice to all of us. Great experience!” – Alix

“Amanda was a great instructor. She gave me valuable information to help improve my skiing. She was kind, was a clear communicator, and was able to share information in a way that made sense. I enjoyed my lesson with her.” – Jeannie

“Dave was there to greet me at the lesson and introduce me to the instructor, Keenan.  They were both enthusiastic, friendly and professional.” – Janine

“My instructor was Jonathan and he did a wonderful job. He gave me clear instructions and challenged me. I had a lot of fun!” – Anthony

“We absolutely loved Jake. He was extra encouraging and was always there to show us pointers and tell us what we were doing and how to correct it. ” – Linda

“Josh was great, I told him what I needed to work on and we went right to that until I had it down before moving on.” – Jason

“Isabelle was great! She boosted my confidence and got me on a Blue run!” – Mallory

“Lisandro was our instructor. He was just awesome! I couldn’t make any progress in my previous lessons but he was different. I was able to learn a lot under his guidance.” – Dumanshu

“Experience with Russ Peterson was amazing! He is definitely a great teacher. Enjoyed the lesson and found it quite useful.” – Olga

“Kirk H was amazing! He had such detailed attention to each member in the lesson and provided clear tips and points for improvement. By the end of the class, every student noticed a significant improvement in their performance. ” – Tasnova

“Katie Miller was really awesome, she paid lots of attention to each of us. Really good at explaining what to do. Made me feel safe and confident.” – Ted

“Grayson explained the techniques and gave corrective feedback very well. I was able to snowboard downhill and felt very confident. Great instructor! ” – Brooksie

“After 7-8 years without skiing, I found out how much I miss it. The Stevens Pass Experience really showed me that. ” – Ed

Employee Appreciation Week

It’s in full swing! The lifts were spinning on Monday night just for employees, we’ve had crazy hats, and sugar filled goodness so far. Today is retro day and tomorrow is the all day raffle and judging for the snow sculptures. Our sculpture is outside the Private Lesson Office and is taking the form of the mountain. Matt Huff and Alyssa were taking charge of it yesterday. If you want to help make it awesome and win us some money for our party fund stop by today or tomorrow!

Have fun… but know when to draw the line

Alcohol may be purchased in our of our licensed outlets, and consumed there, but we cannot drink outside alcohol on premises. It’s against company policy, and the law. Having unopened bottles and cans in your possession is fine, but as soon as they are open then it becomes a violation. Not only could you get in trouble, but a breach of this policy could see the company lose it’s liquor license, and therefore our ability to sell alcohol at the resort.

In our world this becomes even more important given that we employee minors who share our locker room and are a big part of our operation. We want the school to remain a positive influence for everyone.

This also goes without saying for other substances classed as illegal or unauthorized.

Thank you!

Tax Time

It’s that time of year again. W-2 forms are available for pick-up in HR through Friday (tomorrow) at noon. After that they will be mailed out and no longer available at HR

Learn-in-3 Logistics

A couple of notes on the Learn-in-3 Guarantee product sold for ages 13 and up.

If you have folks that graduate (i.e. they reach level 4 by showing speed control through turn shape on Double Daisy, and being confident and ready to take on Blue terrain) you are welcome to bring them into the Private Lesson office at the end of your lesson and the cashiers in there will celebrate their graduation with you and give them all the information they need to redeem their graduation tickets and goodies

A change we have made – Learn-in-3 participants now should be instructed to keep their lift ticket each visit as we will simply reload it when they come for their next visit, we will no longer be issuing a new lift ticket every time they come.

Avalanche Awareness Course

Patty Morrison and the Mountain Education Center are offering an employee AIARE Level 1 from Feb 10^th-12^th (Weds-Fri). These classes are normally on the weekend but to accommodate employees schedules, she is doing a special mid-week class just for us! (Thanks Patty!) Employees receive a 20% discount on the course; it’s normally $300 but for employees it would only be $240. To register, please call our Sales & Reservations office at 206-812-4510 ext. 4206.

Return Students

We reached the half way point this week hitting 2,500+ return students! That means $2,500+ to be shared out among all you instructors in the next pay period and us being half way to our goal. We will post a list soon once we have all the numbers finalized so folks can view their bonus amount.

Thanks everyone for making this happen. Remember our season goal is 5,000. Once we hit the 3,000 mark we’ll organize our next Ski and Snowboard School event/party!

Kudos Board

Just some of the nice things guests have said about us this week…

“Hannah Ulm did an excellent job, especially providing individual attention in a group setting”

“Jason Luck – great teacher, fun to learn from”

“Christina was a fantastic instructor. She worked with each person individually and explained everything in multiple ways so everyone would understand.
Best lesson so far”

“Megan Ready was so great with my girls. At the beginning I was worried about leaving her with my rambunctious 2 year old and 5 year old but when I came back 2 hours later I saw that I worried for nothing. They had a great time and everyone was in good spirits”

“Tom Hock was fantastic, especially considering I was scared of getting hurt. He was really patient with all my ridiculous questions and difficulties.” 

“Lisandro was awesome and made me feel very confident in my skiing abilities. He got me down the Double Daisy successfully without falling on my first try – great way to end the lesson!”

“Tim Merriam was a great coach! Techniques he taught went a long way.”

“Don Martin-he was amazing!! My kids had a blast and finished up the lesson with smiles on their faces and begging for more.”

“Dan “Dorito” Velasco was fabulous. He was very clear in his instructions and did a great job of helping people at varying levels. Very patient :)”

“Dale was a great private instructor and did a super job keeping my wife and I challenged as we progressed at different paces.

Another holiday weekend! Remember that there are no Multi-week Programs this Saturday or Sunday as those take a break for the MLK holiday. It’s going to be a big one with high volume and a lot of snow expected. There is also a bunch of other cool stuff going on…

Employee Appreciation Week

As a thank you for all the hard work everyone is doing the mountain is throwing Employee Appreciation Week from January 25th through 29th with different events each day. HR will be emailing out more information soon so keep an eye out for that and thank you! They have some really fun stuff planned.

SSS Shred Night

Within the Ski and SB School we would like to extend our thanks and claim Friday January 22nd as our employee ride night. It coincides with the start of our Friday Multi-week programs and we would like to encourage all SSS employees to hang out and go shred. We’re at 1600 return students so far this season so we thought we’d celebrate by providing pizza and (non-alcoholic) beverages around 4pm. Come and share in the stoke and if you’ve never ridden at night, now is the time! You won’t regret the sore legs in the morning.

Checking your Development Credits and Private Request, Work and Training Hours

We finally have everything up and running in Asure. Asure is the program that processes your work hours, whether you are an instructor, attendant, cashier etc. Hours from RTP are imported into here, and you get paid.

You can now login to Asure https://stevenspass.asureforce.net/to check your work hours for the day. (Login is your 6-digit employee number found on the back of your employee ID. Password is the same as login until you reset it.)

Instructors can also click on the ‘Accruals’ menu option to see how many Development Credits, Private Request Hours and Training Hours they have accumulated. You can see what credits equate to and how this affects your pay here

Please remember that pre-season, required training such as Rookie Training or Back in the Saddle clinics do not count towards credits or training hours. The hours are also as of the end of the last pay period, which ended on 1/3/2016.

We want your feedback!

Help us to make your job easier and better. Please let us know if you have ideas or suggestions. You can email snowsports, or espn@stevenspass.com. Some great ideas have already come out, such as the clocks on the outside of the building so you don’t have to check your phones while teaching! Thanks Heather!

Orientation

For those folks who didn’t get a chance to complete a company orientation, there will be one from 3:15pm – 4:30pm on Saturday. You will be able to finish up an afternoon lesson before attending. Orientation is required for all employees, and we will be scheduling those folks who are still outstanding. If you cannot attend this time slot but still need to do it please let us know.

Friday Night Multi-weeks

As mentioned above these programs begin January 22nd. Please check your schedule to make sure you don’t miss an assignment for those.

Burton Chill

Burton Chill is back! This is an awesome organization that brings at risk youth (teens) from the Seattle area up to Stevens to learn how to snowboard. These kids come from life situations where enjoying the mountains would be impossible without the help of the non-profit Chill Foundation. Stevens offers them lessons, tickets and rentals at cost for 6-weeks on Wednesday and Thursday nights starting next week. We are looking for snowboard coaches who would be interested in being involved for some or all of the weeks. The lessons run from 6-8pm and are some of the most rewarding classes you can do!

Please let us know if you’d like to be involved. snowsports@stevenspass.com Thanks!

Calling Out Procedure

We understand that things happen and you might need to call in sick or miss a shift. If this happens please contact us as soon as you know by either:

• • Calling (206)812-7393
  • Emailing snowsports@stevenspass.com or using the form on the homepage of this website to send a message

Please don’t call or email managers or supervisors individually as the message may not get to the people who really need it.

We also ask that if you do need to miss a shift, please do what you can to make that up to the team by offering an additional day or offering to come in early or stay late on a day you are scheduled. Thank you.

The Training Report

This weekends clinics are posted in RTP. For instructions on how to sign up online check out the Clinics and Training page right here

The Kudos Board

A new feature to the Word calling out employees who receive some great guest feedback. Give these guys a high-five when you see them next! If you would like to nominate an instructor to get a shout out here please let us know. Here are some of the comments we got just last week…

“Riley was a great instructor, very patient and gave each of the students very good constructive feedback!”

“Had a great lesson 2 with John Carrol! He gave individual feedback and we saw real improvement.”

“I signed my daughter and myself up for a “Parent and Tot” lesson. Her instructor, Dale, was very patient and helpful.”

“My instructor was amazing and I had a really fun time learning to ski! I felt really comfortable and capable during the lesson – he definitely made me feel at ease and also had great tips. I feel great about moving on to the next ski level.” Instructor – John Hoffman

“I have recommended the Beginner program to many of my friends. I’ve had a wonderful experience thus far. The classes are organized extremely well. I appreciate how the instructors are quick to move students up or down a level right at the beginning of the lesson so that the class can progress together at a more efficient pace for everyone.”

“My wife took a snowboard lesson and can’t wait to get back after she can feel her legs again”

Hello everyone,

Multi-weeks are here! And so starts the weekend craziness. If you thought it was busy over Christmas just wait until you see Saturday…! Our Multi-week programs start along with those of all the independent schools so teaching space will be at a premium in the learning area, at least for this weekend until most of the first timer and beginner classes move on out.

How did Christmas stack up?

Thanks again for all your help over the holidays. It was certainly a big one. We taught over 4,500 adult and youth group students and 1,200 of those were returns! Remember that return student numbers are usually much lower at this point of the season, and they pick up as more time passes. So this is a great start and we are well on our way to our goal of 5,000 for the season. We will be posting a board in the locker room soon so we can keep track of where we are at and setting some interim goals with some fun team prizes as we hit them. Pizza party anyone?! We will also be loading the return student incentive ($1 per return student) into your next pay check.

What’s new?

Our Multi-week programs begin tomorrow (January 8-10) and many of you will be scheduled to teach on those. Please remember that the idea of these programs is that we keep groups and coaches together each week so be sure to let us know if you have a scheduling conflict with any of the dates.

MLK weekend is also coming up soon. We are running a small kids terrain park/learning area in downtown Leavenworth over the weekend (Riglet Park style for those who know Riglet) for skiers and riders. We are looking for folks who would enjoy working the weekend in L-Town rather than fighting the crowds and commuting up here! We need a couple of skiers and boarders so let us know if you are interested. It would be both Saturday and Sunday.

So stay up to date…

Please remember to check your schedule to make sure you do not miss an assignment, particularly assignments at the very beginning or end of the day. You may be scheduled anytime between the hours of 8:00am and 4:30pm on a standard day shift, and up to 6pm or 8pm if you gave us evening availability. Guidelines for checking the schedule can be found here and you can always let us know if you have questions.

…and stay connected!

With all the new folks joining here’s a reminder of our Facebook Page, a great resource for used gear and carpooling, and how to reach us by phone (206)812-7393 or email snowsports@stevenspass.com

Saturdays over Sundays

We are seeing a trend emerge that Saturdays are growing faster than Sundays. If anyone out there is working any of the following Sundays, and would be interested in switching for the corresponding Saturday please let us know:

• Sunday January 10th
• Sunday January 24th
• Sunday January 31st
• Sunday February 6th

Extra mid-week hours?

We are looking for a driver to drive an employee transit van any mornings Mon-Thurs. The driver will pick up the van from the summit around 7.15-7.30am and be driving down to Sultan on the west side, returning for 9:00am. The driver will need transportation to the summit to collect the van. Please let us know if you are interested and for what days, or would like more details about pay or the requirements. You can also email hr@stevenspass.com

Training Update

Training continues in earnest this weekend. We have Back-in-the-Saddle clinics running in the mornings at 8:30am for new and returning experienced instructors to get up to speed with our operations this season.

Early-ups or Dawn Patrol will also be going out at 8:30am.

New instructors teaching multi-weeks are also scheduled for some mandatory training from 2:30-3:30pm to go over progressions, tips, tricks and ideas for staying ahead of your students as they progress!

Certification Training also continues with Level 1, 2 and 3 training for ski and snowboard heading out at 3:30pm

Remember: Please check your schedule prior to signing up for a clinic. If you are scheduled to work during a clinic time and would like to request time to train, you must first check in with the supervisor of the activity you are scheduled for. It ruins everyone’s morning if the setup crew all opt to go shred, or some of the 4pm lesson crew ditch their afternoon lineup. If you are regularly scheduled during a time when you would like to clinic, let us know.

Business Cards

We are doing another round of ordering for anyone looking to get some official Stevens Pass business cards. The cards come in boxes of 250 at $12-$20 depending on the number of boxes ordered in total. If you are interested just email snowsports@stevenspass.com and we will get your name on the list and just take the money out of your paycheck.

We will take your name, position, certifications and email address from our records. Please let us know if you would like any of this information to be different, and if you would like us to include a phone number please confirm what that number is. The deadline to get your order in is Sunday 10th, and we likely won’t have them in hand until the end of February.

Employee Coupons

Everyone who started on or before the holidays should by now have received an email from HR with coupons attached. These coupons are for different discounts around the mountain that you can print and use yourselves or give to friends and family. Also included is a mix of comp and 50% off lift ticket vouchers, the number of which depends on your employee status (full vs part time) and your years of service. The email should explain the details. If you did not receive an email, stop by HR and they can make sure you get them!