Acknowledging outstanding customer service, product sales and efforts to grow snow sports participation, SnowSports Industries America (SIA) announced the 2015 SIA U.S. SnowSports Retailer of the Year Award winners last month during the annual SIA Snow Show and Sourcing Snow (Jan. 28 – 31) at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center.
SIA’s Awards Program recognizes specialty retailers that excel in fostering relationships, moving product and setting themselves apart from the competition all while pushing forward the passion and growth of snow sports. The SIA awards are voted on throughout the year and award recipients’ names, bios, and pictures are posted at Snowsports.org/awards
“Each year, the SIA Awards give the snow sports industry an opportunity to look around and acknowledge specialty retailers who are excelling, not only for their own business, but also helping to promote the entire industry,” commented Nick Sargent, president of SIA. “We’re lucky to have such talented people representing snow sports and leading the way.”
“It is an honor to be selected as the Mountain Region Retailer of the Year,” said Adam Cole, owner of Cole Sport in Park City, Utah. “It gives us a great deal of pride to know that we are doing what we love and doing it well. This award also motivates us to improve in the years to come. It is an exciting time in Park City and all of the ski resorts across the Wasatch Mountain Range. We will continue to make changes to improve our business so that when our customers go home, they are already planning their next trip to Utah.”
“We never lose sight of the fact that the only reason we are in business is to take care of the needs of our customers, and keep them happy,” said Dennis Salisbury, owner of Neptune Diving & Ski in Nashville, Tenn.
Nominations for the SIA U.S. SnowSports Retailer of the Year Awards come from industry peers including suppliers and sales reps. Winners for each region appear below. Find detailed bios on each award winner here.
U.S. Retailer of the Year by Region:
*New England – Colorado Ski Shop, Springfield, MA, Diane and Hussein Jaber
*New England – Buchika’s Ski & Bike, Salem, NH, Todd Atkinson
Mid Atlantic – Alpine Ski Shop, Sterling, VA, Chris & Tyler Bunch
Southeast – Freestyle, Charlottesville, VA, Sepp Kober
South Central – Neptune Diving & Ski, Nashville, TN, Dennis Salisbury
North Central – Aspen Ski & Board, Lewis Center, OH, Gil Harris
Mountain – Cole Sport, Park City, UT, Jana and Gary Cole
Pacific – Evo, Seattle, WA, Bryce Phillips
*Award tie in the New England Region
(L to R): Bryce Phillips (Evo), Shane & Kris Salisbury (Neptune Diving & Ski), Gil Harris (Aspen Ski & Board), Chris Bunch (Alpine Ski Shop), Sepp Kober (Freestyle) & Tom Gately (SMC) picking up for Buchika’s Ski & Bike)
