Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Luoma
Hi Sam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started as a volunteer at Chester Bowl in 2004 when I was employed as an Event Coordinator at Continental Ski & Bike. I had been hosting snowboard contests at Spirit Mountain and one of our events was canceled so I moved it to Chester with the permission of then director Thom Storm. I instantly fell in love with the kids and the culture at Chester- everyone was so welcoming and friendly. That winter I started a contest series called Freestyle Fridays with some of my friends who were also involved at Chester. My dad taught me how to weld as a kid and I then built a series of terrain park features for Chester and convinced the board to allow the rails to stay on the hill for the season which created the first terrain park.
Parks & Rec (which was running the program at the time) was cut during the financial crisis of 2008 and the non profit organization The Chester Bowl Improvement Club, assumed control of the programming. To ensure that the programming continued into the future I joined the board, served on the Development, Programs, and Finance committees and when a position opened up as Thom’s assistant became a staff member. I then transitioned into working as a camp counselor, snowboard instructor, and general staff member responsible for supporting programming.
In 2011, I transitioned away from working at Chester to work at Northwood Children’s Services but returned when I was hired as the Programs & Operations Director in 2014. This is the role I continue to hold with the organization.
My amazing & supportive wife, Lizzy and I have 3 children: Charlie (10), Louie (3), and Jenny (1) and we love to spend as much time as possible playing outside, camping, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and mountain biking.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The route I took to find myself working in the outdoor recreation space was pretty long. When I started college, I had planned on becoming either a medical doctor, nurse, or physical therapist. I transitioned to a graphic design & arts program , back to nursing, and then completed a degree in Health Science & Psychology at Saint Scholastica in Duluth. Even after working at Chester for so many years I assumed that I would be working in the healthcare industry. Finding my way to Chester Bowl was a blessing as I am very passionate about creating equitable and sustainable recreational opportunities that meet the needs of our community.
Working for a small nonprofit can be challenging. For many years I was the only year-round, full-time employee responsible for delivering programming. This required me to learn and be responsible for a wide range of skills like chairlift maintenance & management, to how to work work with teens & children, and skills like first aid & rescue. Everyday brings new challenges and requires creative problem solving.
However, I am surrounded by young people who are passionate about Chester Bowl and I am blessed to be working with them.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My role encompasses a number of different disciplines. I conduct a number of the human resources responsibilities for our seasonal part-time staff which number into the 50’s during the winter program. This involves advertising positions, interviewing candidates, hiring, training, supervising, and providing coaching. Our staff are 15 years old to 40 years old and we have staff from a wide variety of backgrounds with a variety of life experiences.
I manage our youth volunteer programs serving teens in 7th grade or higher grades. This involves a lot of training, coaching, and mentoring. Many of these youth volunteers go on to be staff at Chester Bowl. This aspect of my role is the most rewarding as I get to have an impact on the lives of these young folks helping them to navigate middle school, high school, and transitioning to college or the trades.
I manage the chairlift maintenance for Chester Bowl. This requires me to have a detailed understanding of ANSI B77 guidelines, industry standards and OSHA regulations. I build the maintenance schedule, track the maintenance being done, track expenses, and work with our partners at the City of Duluth to ensure that the chairlift is operable for our winter program. I also hire, train, and supervise our lift maintenance staff and I am the supervisor on duty whenever the hill is open.
I am the group leader for the Chester Bowl ski patrol group which is part of the Spirit Mountain Patrol. I am a current National Ski Patrol member and serve as Treasurer for the Spirit Mountain Patrol. I also am a Wilderness First Responder.
I plan, manage and implement the annual Chester Bowl Fall Fest event which brings about 15,000 people to Chester Bowl on the third Saturday of September each year. The event is an arts & crafts festival with live music, food vendors, and other attractions. The event is free but we collect gate donations and that money goes to support our scholarship program at Chester Bowl. Last year we raised about $15,000.
I serve as a “camp director” during the summer and am the staff member responsible for implementing the summer day camp at Chester. We operate three separate camps in the park serving about 150 campers a week and about 300 families each summer. I hire & train our 12-20 staff members and 50-70 youth volunteers. I administer registration and communicate with all the parents so that they know what to expect at camp each week.
There are other aspect of my role at Chester but these are the things I spend the most amount of time on.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
On the winter recreation side of things, I feel as though most resorts will need to start grappling with climate change and the impact of warmer and warmer winters. This will involve investing in snowmaking infrastructure and processes to become more efficient. Additionally, there needs to be an effort to include marginalized communities into skiing and snowboarding which are expensive and have a lot of barriers to entry. One of the things I am proud of at Chester is our scholarship program which provides free or reduced season passes and year-round equipment rentals. Our prices are low to begin with: for the cost of renting skis, getting day passes, and paying for lessons for one day at most resorts, families can participate at Chester for an entire season. Other resorts need to adopt similar models to get more people into skiing and snowboarding.
For summer camp, the direction seems to be more towards creating safe places where kids feel welcomed and comfortable in nature. This involves helping campers work through strong emotions, behavior issues, and physical limitations so that they can fully enjoy programming. Additionally, training the future leaders is extremely important because they will be doing the hard work in the near future. The sooner the industry helps these folks develop leadership skills the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chesterbowl.org
- Instagram: @chester_bowl, @spluoma
