There are a number of issues I believe need addressing and some of the blogs posted to date address this. I know for a fact that Boyne Mountain does in fact value the service of it's volunteer patrol so let's make sure that as todd has stated that the value we add continues to be recognized by Boyne Mgmt. As a volunteer organization, the issues we face at a local patrol level are no different than those faced by any other patrol in the national organization. The difference in how those issues are managed is more a reflection of the patrol leadership than the leadership of the sponsoring ski area management. I consider it a privilege to be a part of the boyne organization and not an entitlement and hopefully we can stay focused on that mindset.
Having said that, there are a number of opportunities that if addressed properly by our leadership, and with the right structure can be resolved with little or no financial investment by Boyne. Todd is correct in stating that Boyne mgmt has been and continues to be very supportive in ensuring that we have the proper equipment essential to the execution of our mission. If one took the time like I have to visit other areas in our section, region, and division I can tell you that we are 90% better off than most patrols.
What I feel we lack is a defined plan of approach on how to sustain a quality level of service to an organization (Boyne Mountain) that is in a progressive state of growth. How we have been lead in the past will be sufficient to sustain the level of service Boyne will expect as it continues to grow. What I would like to outline is several of these issues that might perhaps serve as a foundation of a plan that could be used as a roadmap to the future.
1. Membership: The demand on patroller's and their families are much different than they were 10 years ago. Perhaps the requirement of every other weekend is to much. The additional nights required to ski can be a real hardship if folks need to take vacation on a Friday to drive up to work a 4 hour shift. We cannot sustain with a patrol level of 40. If we increased membership to 60 or 70 and had the requirement of every third weekend and 3 nights that might solve the problem. We could experiment with flexible shifts but we would need to talk with other areas that do this to understand the problems they encounter and how they deal with that.
2. Equipment: There are a number of concerns here; Old lift evacuation ropes with the improper pulley ratios, toboggans that are in need of replacement, Old and potentially unreliable oxygen regulators, traction splints in need of repair or replacement, un-reliable radio communication to disciples ridge, snowmobiles that are unsafe and unreliable for operations, BP cuffs that don't work. These are not new concerns but concerns that have been around for several years and have not been properly addressed. A solution to this was alluded to by John Bennett, I know that Boyne will donate 4-6 season passes that we can raffle. I would give each patroller 10-15 tickets to sell. We would use the proceeds from these sales to finance a capital management maintenance/replacement program. For example, if we have 40 patroller's selling 10 tickets each at $100 per ticket it would generate $40,000 annually. With these funds we could then start a defined capital replacement program that would buy 1 new snowmobile every 3 years, replace 2 toboggans every year, replace lift evacuation equipment as needed, and upgrade our radio communication ability, etc.
3. Operations: I would suggest a leadership team that was comprised as follows:
1 patrol director, elected by the patrol and approved by management. This be a 3 year position with no term limits.
1 Assistant patrol director, again elected by the patrol and approved by management. This would be a 3 year position with no term limits.
2 team leaders, appointed by the patrol director, 2 year rotating assignment, renewable
1 capital manager, appointed by the patrol director, 2 year rotation assignment, renewable
1 hill trainer, appointed by the patrol director, 2 year assignment, renewable
1 lead off-hill trainer, appointed by the patrol director, 2 year assignment, renewable
This structure would ensure accountability, control, and commitment. An annual capital plan would have to be approved by the patrol at the annual meeting with a majority vote. Job descriptions would be written for each of these positions. This committee would meet formally monthly from November thru March and have a planning session in August for the upcoming year.
4. Uniforms: As much as I like the rusty parka, the reality is that we are the only patrol left in the region wearing them and I would guess less than a handful of patrols nationally. Our sister resorts within the Boyne family are all red/white and it is only a matter of time until we are required to change. We might be proactive on this and come up with a jacket that is more fashionable than the Red/White. Perhaps a small team to do some research on what other areas are doing and come up with a recommendation might be appropriate.
5. Patrol Room: It is just a matter of time before our existing patrol room is demolished. We should be talking with Ed/Dave to either integrate into the new day lodge design or come up with an independent design and location to build one. We have the skill set within our patrol to do this. The Otsego patrol room might serve as a starting design. What is critical is a basement that contains lockers and is family friendly. This would also allow us to re-vitalize the socialization of the patrol and would allow for the weekly Saturday morning meetings.
6. Training: We have perhaps one of the best on the hill training programs in the region and everyone in the patrol benefits from this ongoing activity. However, off the hill training is non-existent. We have several qualified OEC instructors on our patrol that are underutilized. When we recruit, we are dependent on other downstate patrols to provide this training in the off season. I would propose that we run our own OEC classes on Sunday mornings during the season. This would help with our recruiting efforts and ensure that we are teaching to Boyne Mountain patrol standards. Additionally, we should have quick interactive refresher sessions at the Saturday morning meetings. This would allow each of us to stay current with equipment, we could also review past accidents to determine what we could do better in the future.
7. Diversity of the patrol: It is no secret that for years we have had trouble retaining a diverse patrol. The reasons are varied but unfortunately we have a reputation of not being female and/or minority friendly. In the future this has to change and a strong leadership team is required to make this happen. Another aspect of diversity is our current requirement that if you don’t make ‘senior’ in 2 years you are asked to leave. I would challenge that we should be flexible enough to allow both basic only and auxiliary patrollers. There are many who have a strong medical background that would be happy only working in the patrol room, perhaps we need to re-visit the ‘mix’ of patrollers we want and determine how this would fit into the mix.
In summary, my view is that this is not just about two many night patrol duties, bad snowmobiles, or ‘Boyne’ not doing enough for us. Boyne does plenty for us. Perhaps we need to honestly look inward to determine what the root cause of some of the perceived problems are and be proactive to solve our own internal problems before seeking solutions elsewhere.
This past ski season was perhaps one of the best for snow in the past 10 years, but this is the only year that I can recall so many open slots in the duty roster. Perhaps we should do a root cause analysis on this.
Mike Costa
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A virtual chairlift for open discussion amoung Boyne Patrollers
9 comments:
Great thoughts, Mike......the suggestions put forth are a radical departure from the status quo, but may be what we need to get out of the stagnation that we are currently in. It sounds like it would be a large up-front effort to get things set up, but it would then be a self-sustaining process. I think the idea of a better partol room, with family friendly amenities should be a top priority. Not only will this present a much more professional image to our patients, visitors and management, it would also help tremendously with our recruiting efforts as well.
I agree with Mike 110%
Give me my 10 tickets to sell.
I will donate my time and tools to help build a new Patrol Room. It would be nice if we could do it in the late summer/fall.
I also think it is time we install a ladies room in the new building.
Boyne has extra meeting rooms and I'm sure they would let you use them for OEC classes.
Nicely done, Mike. I think much of what you suggest makes a lot of sense. I know that for me, having a local OEC course available made things much easier and gave me a chance to get to know a few of you before I had the chance to ski with any of you. I agree with the need to diversify our patrol and consider flexible schedule alternatives and the use of auxiliary patrollers, etc. If it is decided that it is time to change our uniform, I'm cool with that.
I am going to differ with you (and I'm sure others) when it comes to numbers 2 and 5. I have a hard time understanding why it is not Boyne's responsibility to provide us with a viable patrol room and up-to-date snowmobiles. I am well aware that there are other patrols in the area that have fundraised and maintain their own patrol rooms and equipment. I think that is very nice. However, I fail to see the logic in it. Obviously, Boyne USA is a business and I don't fault them for trying to cut costs as much as they can. If we announce that we are willing to furnish our own patrol room and equipment, I'm sure they'd be more than willing to oblige. It's smart business for them. From all indications, they seem to be doing very well, expanding and buying up other ski areas around the country. I would feel very awkward asking people to donate money ($100 sounds awfully steep to me for a raffle ticket) so that our patrol can buy new snowmobiles. It seems out of whack. I think most people assume Boyne provides us with the equipment we need to do our job.
The fact is that we (the NSP) use the patrol room and snowmobiles 2/7ths of the week. Now, you could argue that there isn't as much action during the week, but I would guess that the pros ride the snowmobiles as much as we do and they certainly use the patrol room just as much. If we were to build a patrol room and buy snowmobiles, would the pro patrol have use of these things? Even if they didn't I still have trouble understanding why it is our job to pay for essential equipment.
Speaking for myself, I am totally willing to donate time towards an OEC course or a work weekend where we fix existing equipment, but I would not be willing to go around asking people for money. I would be embarrassed, considering all the other worthy causes to which people can donate their money.
Chris, thanks for your insightful comments. Diversity of thought leads to better solutions and decisons. You raise many valid points that warrant further discussion. Getting the right forum and team in place to have these discussions and make the right decisions is critical.
Costa
Chris, Boyne has given us a patrol room and snowmobiles, and will continue to do so. But the quality isn't up to par. If we raise our own money we can have a patrol room that will fit our needs and something to be proud of. I also believe that if we raised our own money for that equipment that Boyne would be willing to give us more perks.
I'm agree with you on the Pro Patrollers. In the past they have been somewhat segregated from us, I think that they should be brought in closer to us and be set to the same standards as we are. However, I do think Boyne should give them their own snowmobiles, that would make ours last a lot longer. We could have a enclosed snowmobile trailer to keep ours in and keep them locked up.
As for the ticket sales I don't think you can say it is a donation, people would be buying a chance to win something, just like playing the Loto. Would doubling the number of tickets sold and cutting the cost to $50 help?
I'll have to agree with Chris on this one, Boyne SHOULD supply the essentials...patrol room (they do) snowmobiles (they do) first aid supplies (they do) exc, exc.
To maintain these items is up to us..and this is where we are falling short.
It sure would be nice to have a capital fund to spend on extras..like a nice locker room, maybe one of OUR OWN snowmobiles for NSP use only, BUT, I do not think that I would be willing to go out and peddal lottery tickest or ask for donations...I get at least 5-6 similar requests every week at my office ...it's aggravating!!!
I would much rather find an alternate source of revenue. Possibly the vending concession at the Disiples warming house??
Thanks for your responses, guys.
John: To answer your question, no, reducing the cost of the raffle tickets would not make it more appealing, at least not for me. I believe Boyne wants to be known as a first-class resort. If this is true and Boyne wants to provide the best possible skiing experience for its patrons (an experience that includes the potential need for first aid services), why is it just assumed and accepted that they will provide us with equipment and facilities that are, in your own words, of sub-par quality? It would be one thing if we were at some Mom & Pop ski area that was just scraping by, but at the end of each season we always hear how Boyne "had a great year" and it is shown in the expansion at Boyne Mountain as well as the expansion of Boyne USA around the country. I just can't justify working to raise money for things that Boyne should (and could) provide if indeed it wants to be recognized as a first-class resort. Let me be clear, I do not fault Boyne. They are a business and they have to prioritize how best to allocate their money. They have decided it is in their best interest financially to add new chairlifts and acquire ski areas out east. If we have a cramped patrol room or snowmobiles that are unreliable, that, to me, is not a reflection of the NSP, but of Boyne USA. The pride I take from my NSP experience is derived from the services we provide, not from the building we are in.
Like Todd mentioned, I agree that we should do our very best to take care of the things Boyne gives us. For the most part, I think we do quite well with what we have. If our patrol room doesn't look great, I think that is more a function of a lack of adequate space than of us being neglectful. If essential items like first aid equipment or lift evac supplies don't work, we can try to repair them ourselves first, but ultimately Boyne has to replace them if they are old or damaged. I don't get the sense that anyone is intentionally mishandling equipment more than normal wear-and-tear. I could be wrong. I don't know what you crazy A-teamers are up to when I'm not around.
Chris, I'm with ya. If we can get a management team set up that can go to Boyne and get the stuff we need, that would be awesome. I would just as soon see Boyne pay for everything. I was just saying that I am willing to to what ever it takes to get this patrol going in the right direction.
I have only been here like 7-8 years, but in that time I have only seen 4 improvements and none of the money for them has come from Boyne USA. 1. Was the blue quick splints and they came from a anonymous donor.(Big thanks to who ever it was) 2. Was the used AED that was donated and is now outdated. 3. Was the training manikins that Dennis, Perry and I charged each person taking the CPR class a extra $10. So you guys paid for them. 4. Was a new laptop which the patrollers dues paid for.
PS. The crazy A teamers are busy fixing the snowmobiles that the B team broke the weekend before. lol
Great comments here-these suggestions and comments are moving us in the right direction.
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