Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Andy Wirth’s hire as chief executive officer of Squaw Valley USA is a resounding testament to his talents as a ski resort executive, as well as a tremendous loss to the entire Steamboat Springs community. His dedication to the economic success of the Yampa Valley throughout the past two decades should not be underestimated, nor should the legacy he will leave through many of the efforts he undertook.

Wirth’s rise from a marketing intern at Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. in 1986 to senior vice president of sales and marketing was punctuated along the way with his work on successful and far-reaching initiatives such as the winter air service program at Yampa Valley Regional Airport, as well as feel-good events like the Olympic Sendoff and subsequent Hometown Heroes celebration earlier this year.

Wirth is the first to acknowledge that much of his success was built upon the foundation laid by his predecessors — folks like Kent Myers, Rod Hanna and Charlie Mayfield. But his modesty overlooks the significant investment of time and money he made to organizations such as the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club — for which he served as board president for the past eight years, a period in which the club’s financial situation went from dire to healthy — or his work with the Mountain Business Association, the Colorado Tourism Office Marketing and Communications Committee, the North Routt Fire Protection District, Routt County 4-H, the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s Marketing Committee, the Steamboat Springs Edu­cation Fund Board, the Yampa Valley Regional Airport Advisory Board and the Ski Town USA Rotary Club. There are no doubt others that have been excluded.

Wirth was behind the recent creation of the Mountain Village Partnership, a marketing and event promotion group representing about three dozen base area businesses. He also helped lead the formation of the Local Marketing District, a taxing district that collects 2 percent on lodging across the city. Proceeds from the LMD help fund the airline program at YVRA that has become so instrumental in bringing visitors from across the country to Steamboat for vacations.

Perhaps it is Wirth’s efforts on behalf of that air program that will be his biggest legacy. It’s difficult to quantify what the availability of ski season flights from major airports across the country has meant to the Yampa Valley, and Steamboat Springs in particular, in recent years.

It’s even more remarkable to consider some of Wirth’s and Ski Corp. President Chris Diamond’s successes considering the seemingly constant turmoil in ski area ownership. But through it all, Wirth’s adept marketing savvy and eternal optimism have pushed Steamboat’s unique brand forward in the marketplace, helping to establish our resort community as one of the finest in the country.

The behind-the-scenes effort to bring events such as the 2010 U.S. Winter Olympic Team Trials to Steamboat or the Ride 4 Yellow event to the slopes of Mount Werner too often go unrecognized. It’s good to see — through his move to CEO at Squaw Valley — that Wirth’s accomplishments in the industry and in Routt County weren’t. Best of luck, Andy, and thank you for your tireless service on behalf of Steamboat.