FEBRUARY 25, 2010 ISSUE
Banner Elk’s Ski Country Sports Wins Top National Honors
Named 2009 SIA Southeast Retailer of the Year, SKI Magazine Gold Medal Shop
Ski Country Sports Co-Owners Bill and Susan Leonard (pictured second to right and on far left, respectively) accept the 2009 SIA Regional Retailer of the Year in the Southeast award from SIA Chair Mike Carey (far right) and SIA’s Diane Boyer (second to left) at the SnowSports Industries America’s Snow Show in Denver, Colo. in January. Photo submitted
During the largest ski and snowboard trade show in the Northern Hemisphere, SnowSports Industries America’s Snow Show in Denver, Colo. on January 28 to 31, Banner Elk’s Ski Country Sports was named the 2009 SIA Regional Retailer of the Year in the Southeast.
Just as the that honor was beginning to sink in, Ski Country Sports Co-Owners Bill and Susan Leonard learned they had won another, separate award—SKI Magazine’s Gold Medal Shop award.
This marks the first time that Ski Country Sports—which features locations in Banner Elk, Charlotte and Asheville—has won a SnowSports Industries America (SIA) award, and the second time the family-owned business has won SKI Magazine’s Gold Medal Shop award.
“Bill and Susan are involved in a number of organizations that help shape the industry. So it’s really nice to see a store with owners who have such a passion and complete involvement in snowsports get recognized for this award,” said David Ingemie, president of SnowSports Industries America.
SIA awardees were chosen on specific criteria and for consistently making a significant impact in the snowsports industry. Identified as having knowledgeable staffs, expansive product lines and for keeping ahead of market trends, seven U.S. retailers received SIA honors during the show, including Ski Country Sports.
“When customers enter into Ski Country Sports, we hope they experience a homey feel,” said Bill Leonard, who established the business with Susan in 1983. “We have four wonderful children who were all raised at the store—all of them enjoy skiing and love anything to do with winter. We hope our customers can see how we want to keep families active in snowsports,” he added.
In regards to happy customers, Ski Country Sports is also one of 60 ski and snowboard shops in the nation that recently received SKI Magazine’s Gold Medal Shop award, an honor reserved for select outfitters that pass criteria established by a panel of snowsport industry experts.
“This is a big honor for Ski Country Sports; it’s especially an honor for a shop that far down South to win such an award when they are going against locations with much larger skier populations,” said SKI Magazine Deputy Editor Joe Cutts, who established the award program just more than a decade ago.
Since the award program began, Ski Country Sports has twice been named a Gold Medal Shop, also winning the award in 2005.
Readers of SKI Magazine and snowsport manufacturing representatives annually nominate hundreds of ski and snowboard shops across the country for the awards. The nominations are submitted to Cutts, who gathers a panel of snowsport industry executives to give each shop on the list a rating based on specific criteria, such as shop appeal, shop size and layout, sales staff expertise and services offered. Once tallied, eight to 15 shops are chosen in each region of the country to receive a Gold Medal Shop award. Ski Country Sports won in the U.S. Eastern Region.
“We’ve found that Ski Country Sports has a savvy staff, a great marketing plan and loyal customers—our panelists had a great deal of respect for the shop,” said Cutts.
With locations in Banner Elk, Charlotte and Asheville, Ski Country Sports offers skis and snowboards from Nordica, K2, Head, Volkl, Line, Salomon, Tecnica, Burton, Ride and Flow, and clothing from The North Face, Spyder, Descente, DNA, Patagonia, Arcteryx, 686, Obermeyer and Bogner.
Ski Country Sports is also the largest independent ski and snowboard rental operator in the South, boasting more than 1,000 sets of top-of-the-line skis and snowboards. The business is located on Highway 184 in Banner Elk across from the entrance to Sugar Mountain Resort.
For more information, call the Banner Elk location at 828-898-9786 or 1-800-528-3874, or click to www.skicountrysports.com.
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