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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, January 19-22, 2019 Business The Park Record. Editor: Carolyn Webber Alder business@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.15718 APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR UTAH RECREATION GRANTS Applications are open for the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The Office of Outdoor Recreation awards grants to communities in Utah looking to construct or expand outdoor recreation amenities and help boost tourism. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. For more information about the grant, and to access the application, visit https://business.utah.gov/uorg/. COMPANY REPORTS HIGH BOOKINGS FOR WINTER DestiMetrics, a platform from Inntopia that provides lodging metrics for the mountain travel industry in North America, recently reported that bookings made in December for arrivals in that month were up 50.9 percent compared to the previous December. According to a press release, bookings were driven by a fair amount of snowfall throughout the Mountain West, as well as a general decline in the average daily rate of a room throughout the region. DestiMetrics predicts that occupancy will remain high throughout the rest of the winter season. “As we enter the peak ski season months, western mountain lodging is poised for another strong season bolstered by healthy snowfall and savvy rate management,” said Tom Foley, senior vice president of business operations and analytics for Inntopia, in the release. TOURISM DAY ON THE HILL SET TO TAKE PLACE FEB. 1 The Utah Office of Tourism is expected to hold its 12th annual Tourism Day on the Hill on Feb. 1, according to the organization’s website. Those in the tourism industry are invited to attend the event at the Utah State Capitol Rotunda from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event is set to include networking with legislators and other industry members. Those interested in exhibiting at the event can sign up via https:// www.utahtourism.org/1287/. A-5 The Park Record HEARTH AND HOME DISHES COZY FARE, A-6 30-YEAR EMPLOYEE BUYS STORE FROM OWNER, A-6 www.parkrecord.com A-5 SAT/SUN/MON/TUES, JANUARY 19-22, 2019 SIA unites with leaders to help save winter National associations plan to lobby for legislative changes CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record Winter sports industry leaders have watched with uneasiness as winters have become less predictable. “We have seen the lack of snow, the increased amounts of snow, the dry winters, the cold winters, the warm winters — we have all seen this over the last 10 years,” said Nick Sargent, president of Park City-based trade organization Snowsports Industries America. In an industry that depends on snow, changing climate patterns are causing big concerns. For that reason, Snowsports Industries America, the National Ski Area Association and the Outdoor Industry Association are banding together in a new initiative titled United by Winter. The three national organizations hope to incite change among business leaders and politicians to slow climate change and its effects. United by Winter is set to launch at the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, a trade show for the outdoor industry set to take place in Denver starting on Jan. 30. This goes beyond OIA, SIA and NSAA. This goes all the way to the kitchen table of every family that is living in this community,” Nick Sargent, Snowsports Industries America Sargent said the three associations have been talking over the last few PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO An athlete competes in the TUNA Wasatch Citizens Series cross-country skiing race at Soldier Hollow in December of 2017. The snow on the Nordic track was almost entirely man-made because there was little snow at the beginning of the 2017-18 ski season. The first snow has regularly been falling later in the year in Park City and other mountain towns. years about joining arms to take on issues affecting outdoor recreation. Climate change, which Sargent said is “the single largest threat to the outdoor recreation industry,” seemed like the best issue for the alliance to address first. Research that has come out in the last few years has shown that climate change could drastically shorten the winter season, and some effects have already been seen in consistently poor snow levels and the first snow falling later in the season. In towns that thrive economically off winter sport recreation, such as Park City, the impact of a shorter winter season would be massive, Sargent said. “This goes beyond OIA, SIA and NSAA. This goes all the way to the kitchen table of every family that is living in this community,” he said. Last fall, the leaders of the associations started meeting to decide how best to engage its members and bring about change. Sargent said ultimately, the organizations would like to see legislation that would reduce carbon emissions and incentivize the use of clean and renewable power and companies take action to reduce their own carbon impact. But to get the support of the retailers, brands, suppliers and ski resorts the associations represent, the initial hurdle is educating members about the risk of climate change on the outdoor industry. The first step for businesses to get involved in United by Winter is to commit and agree that “climate change is impacting the snow sports industry and the future of our sports” and “leveraging our corporate scale is a critical component to the solution now,” according to SIA’s website. Resources on SIA’s website provide facts on climate change and information about what companies and political groups are doing to combat it. Sargent said one of the reasons United by Winter came about was because he and other industry leaders realized many outdoor retailers and brands want to make changes to reduce their carbon footprint or get involved in lobbying for legislative changes, but the majority of the businesses do not know how to best break into the space. What ends up happen- Please see United, A-8 MAKE 2019 THE YEAR OF YOU A LIMITED NUMBER OF OUR LOCAL MEMBERSHIP S ARE NOW AVAIL ABLE. CALL TO JOIN 435-6 47-5555 ON-THE-SPOT EXPERT INSIGHTS FROM A WORKING LUXURY HOME CREATOR? YES, PLEASE. Expert advice when you need it most makes all the difference in saving time and making good decisions. Murray’s not guessing. He’s literally a working luxury home creator, responsible for some of the Parade of Homes entries you’ve envied and adored. 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