Hello MLC Instructors!
I hope your summer has been enjoyable and you have been staying safe and sane during these unprecedented times. There is a lot going on culturally, financially, politically and medically that it’s truly hard to stay informed … or tune it all out … whatever your preferences may be.
In this email … 2019-20 Award Recipients, Coronavirus Response Operational Plans; Are you planning to return to teaching this season? And more …
Season Awards
It was great to see some of you at the Instructor Awards Zoom party last month. We announced the season award winners then.
Names include: Jenn, Val, Kent, Claire, Kristin, Lucy, Sean, Mark, Jamie, Kaitlin, Jesse as well as the runner ups … To see who the winners were go here: https://mhm.snowproportal.com/updates/instructor-award-recipients-2019-2020-season
Changing of the Seasons
A comforting constant is the path of our lonely planet around the sun and with its annual journey comes the changing of the seasons. The mornings over the last few days have felt like Fall; cooler mornings followed by hot days! That said, we received our first new instructor application already; and “NO” we don’t have any re-hire or new-hire applications on-line yet – we’ll update you via email when to re-apply. This person was just eager and thinking about the upcoming season with hope and excitement. I know many of you have some of the same feelings as well as concerns.
For the mental health of most of our region’s residents, Mt. Hood Meadows would be considered an “essential business” for those who ski or snowboard. The affects of no access to ski and snowboard would spread throughout the community, both directly and indirectly, negatively impacting everyone’s spirits. We all feel better, are more inspired, more balanced, when we get a chance to feel the wind in our faces and the silence of the snow as we flow through deep pow on a favorite run. Being on the mountain is big part of our Wellness Core Value.
Coronavirus Response Operational Plans
Josey is representing the MLC in our company-wide Coronavirus Response Operational Plan so we can enjoy the mountain this upcoming winter. Each MHM department is reviewing their individual operations and coming up with best practices and modifications to our “norms” so we can keep our teams and guests as safe as possible while operating under the CDC recommendations and the Governor’s orders. We are developing a phased approach, based on the situation we are in at that moment. We’ve been taking note as to what Timberline has been doing this summer, as well as meeting with Southern Hemisphere resorts to hear directly from them what they’ve been experiencing, how they’ve modified their operations and how things are going. To say the least, there is a lot to consider.
The Perpetual Stoke model is still our core operational model; putting Team first. Our revised operational plans are developed to provide a workplace environment for our team members that reduces possible exposure. YOU should try to stay 6 feet apart, wear a mask when you can’t stay 6 feet apart from others and limit your time indoors while in close contact with others. WE will enhance recurring sanitation efforts, physically separate tables, adjust our lesson meeting areas preferring outdoor locations vs. indoor and limit participation in MLC lessons and programs – these are some examples of our department’s operational responses and will be dependent on the ever changing situation in the moment. As a society, we need to work together to help keep everyone safer.
Probably the best part of our plan, that I know you all will appreciate, is “Limiting the amount of time spent indoors.” Yes! Let’s spend more time outside skiing and snowboarding this season! This Fall we will provide key information about our operations changes.
Return to Teaching Survey – Are you planning to return this season?
Given all of this, we are reaching out to our instructor team members to get a sense of your plans to return to Mt. Hood Meadows this season, and enrich the lives of yourselves, your team and our guests. We know each of you has individual circumstances that may influence your ability to return to teaching this season. Please complete this brief survey so we can get a sense of whether you plan to return, your comfort level and any concerns you may have.
Take the survey here:
Returning Instructor Orientations – Most Likely On-line
With the current state of affairs, we’ll most likely be conducting an on-line, E-Learning style company orientation and department orientation with some great refresher educational components. Optimistically speaking, these are some of the benefits to the pandemic and we may see some “best practices” emerge from these operational changes, making our lives better in the long run. At this time we do plan to conduct returning instructor on-snow training when the snow flies, which will be focussed on skiing and riding – YAY! Details to follow later this Fall.
I’m looking forward to seeing you in the coming months one way or another!
Yours in snowsports,
Tyler