LUDLOW, Vt. – At the recent luncheon meeting of the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC), Bruce Schmidt, VP and General Manager of Okemo Resort, spoke to members of the LRC about the readiness of the Vail-owned resort for the 2022-23 ski season.
Schmidt, a 37-year veteran at Okemo, indicated that snow-making and lift equipment had been upgraded to provide the mountain with improved snow making capability. He also noted the resort had devoted considerable effort to increase its housing for employees.
Other key advances at the resort included a new parking plan to reduce traffic, a new bus drop area, no longer requiring reservations, doubling the snowmaking staff, opening all restaurants this season, and having more music performances around the resort
When queried about the role of Vail in the operation of the mountain, Schmidt said that 95% of all decisions were made at Okemo, not at corporate headquarters at Vail.
He also explained his own growth in the organization and how the resort likes to train employees so they could advance to more challenging careers at the resort.