Jet set holds high-level meeting in Jackson Hole

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

By Bill Sniffin

Sure, it was just a meeting. But in Jackson Hole, they know how to take a presumably ordinary event and make it pretty darned spiffy.

For example, a progressive outfit called Jackson Hole Air was holding what they call an Airline Rendezvous for the airline carriers that service their valley.

Jackson Hole Airport is, by far, the busiest in the state when it comes to boardings. Over 60 percent of all enplanements in the entire state occur there.
Various folks were invited, included area politicians, regional senators  and representatives, and present and former members of the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission (that would include me). Instead of booking the banquet room of the local eatery, this meal would be served at the top of Bridger Bowl at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s new restaurant, Couloir.

 Up at 9,000 feet, the featured speaker was Jay Kemmerer, who has owned the resort for the past 15 years along with his family. He used airplane terms to describe what they have done recently to the resort.  He described the present layout at Couloir as his “737,” meaning he had invested $15 million in building the gondola and restaurant and all amenities. Then he pointed to the south to where he was going to put his “747” next year – the new 101-person tram that is being installed, which was costing $25 million.

Kemmerer explained how intermingled the fates of both airlines and places like ski resorts can be. In both cases, he said, you need a tremendous initial investment and then, with good marketing and good luck, you hope the people will use your services.
His talk was witty, informative and down to earth. Later it was pointed out the Kemmerer family had invested $100 million in JHMR up to this point. A pretty good success story for a pioneer Wyoming family. The original tram and three double chair lifts at the resort cost $2 million in1966.

Airlines represented at the sit-down were American, United, Delta, Sky West and Wyoming’s own Great Lakes Airlines, represented by its CEO, Chuck Howell.  Shelly Reams and Amber Schlabs of the WAC attended, as did Jeff Rose, a WAC commissioner. John Resor and his wife Kitty were there. His family is developing a new 18-hole golf course at the base of the ski area. Jerry Blann, president of JHMR, said the course, called The Shooting Star, was being designed by leading pro architect Tom Fazio.

Larry Williamson of Grand Targhee Ski Resort and Manuel Lopez of Snow King, Wyoming’s number-two and number-three largest ski areas, were also there with artist’s renderings of their resorts’ expansion plans.

Two Cheyenne legislators, Republican Pete Illoway and Democrat Floyd Esquibel, journeyed to the event, as did State Senators Eli Bebout (R-Riverton), Hank Coe (R-Cody) and Bruce Burns (R-Sheridan), and Rep. Dave Edwards (R-Douglas). They conducted a legislative hearing the next day concerning the future of air service for Wyoming.

Our newest U. S. Senator, John Barrasso, kicked off the event and was accompanied by his fiancé Bobbie Brown. He got a positive reaction when he said he would continue to work to lengthen the short runway at the Jackson airport.

Mike Gierau is the chairman of Jackson Hole Air and Kari Cooper is its executive director. Gierau said that JHMR Founder Paul McCollister called him 20 years ago and roped him into being involved in getting the community to do financial guarantees so that airlines would service the valley.

“Now, we are the envy of the country,” Gierau said. “It’s not just ski areas that call me for advice, but places like Biloxi, Miss. Amazing.”

 The buffalo was so tender you could cut it with a fork. Yes, these Jackson Hole folks know how to turn what could have been a routine event into quite a party. Amazing, indeed.
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Jet set holds high-level meeting in Jackson Hole | Planet JH News Article: Left Wing Local

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