The presidents of the Eastern Winter Sports Reps Association (EWSRA), Midwestern Representatives Association (MRA), Midwest Winter Sports Reps Association (MWSRA), New England Winter Sports Representatives, Inc. (NEWSR), Western Winter Sports Rep Association (WWSRA), SnowSports Industries America (SIA) and their staff met in Denver in August to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the snow sports industry.
“It is very important for the regional rep associations and SIA to work together to develop a better understanding of what is happening in the industry regionally and nationally. The reps have a very different perspective as they are on the ground and in retail stores on a regular basis,” said David Ingemie, president of SIA.
Those in attendance at the meeting included:
Maureen Bliss, NEWSR
Bruce Marsh, MWSRA President
Debbie DesRoches, SIA
Will Masson, NEWSR President
Cami Garrison, WWSRA
Kerry O’Flaherty, EWSRA President
Holly Grignon, MWSRA
Bob Orbacz, SIA
Bob Gundram, SIA Board Chairman and C3 President
Bonnie Rathbun, MRA
David Ingemie, SIA President
Tim Simonson, MRA President
Linda Irvin, EWSRA
Morgan Turner, WWSRA President
“The opportunity to talk with the other rep associations and get a sense of where they’re at with their show schedules gave us all a common denominator in terms of what our plans are for the future,” said Will Masson, president of NEWSR and New England sales representative for Rossignol. “The meeting with SIA was very insightful to help with future plans and to help the rep associations and SIA work together as a team to offer the specialty retailer greater opportunities to see products both nationally and regionally.”
Together the groups reviewed the state of the industry from national and regional perspectives, considering membership in each organization and the retail climate in each region. Those present also discussed the current issues in the buy-sell cycle, and industry-wide programs that increase the number of snow sports participants and participation.
SIA’s resources for snow sports sales reps are available at Snowsports.org/reps.
