Industry News
Aspen Skiing Co. CEO Mike Kaplan has encouraged his employees to make the resort an even more welcoming place than usual when the National Brotherhood of Skiers, “the largest black ski group in the United States,” visit the ski town this week.
In a memo to employees, Kaplan asks that employees “welcome the Brotherhood lovingly and intentionally” and asks them to make “make an even greater effort.”
In a sense, I’m asking you to see color, to both celebrate our visitors and to recognize their lived experience, not to be color blind. Some may say that this in itself is racist. But it is not—it is called a course correction.
– Mike Kaplan
Full memo below:
Dear Fellow Employees:
Next week, Snowmass will be hosting the National Brotherhood of Skiers, the largest Black ski group in the United States. We’ll be welcoming them to their 49th winter summit event at 3:30pm on Sunday at Snowmass Base Village. I’ll be there, along with the mayors of Aspen and Snowmass as well as other community leaders. I’m inviting you to show up in uniform and greet our longtime friends. The Brotherhood has also opened Gospel Fest to the public, and you are welcome to join that event on Sunday morning 9:30-11am in the Base Village Conference Center.
I am also asking that you welcome the Brotherhood lovingly and intentionally. I know we treat all our guests this way, but it’s no secret that it’s been a tough winter and we are all a bit burned out from the challenges and staffing levels. Yet, I’m asking you to make an even greater effort, and here’s why. As a group of citizens who have not, historically, been treated well in society, standard or even slightly bad customer service can understandably be interpreted as bias. If you’re Black in Snowmass, comments like: “That parking space is just for hotel guests,” “you can’t park there,” or “my restaurant isn’t open now, come back at 5…” can be taken as more than just curt management. How do I know this? From talking to friends who are Black, and guests who are people of color.
In a sense, I’m asking you to see color, to both celebrate our visitors and to recognize their lived experience, not to be color blind. Some may say that this in itself is racist. But it is not—it is called a course correction.
I am asking you to make Snowmass an even more welcoming place than we normally are, not only for the benefit of our guests but as an example for the rest of the country. And one last thing: this is not just Aspen Snowmass putting on a front for a weekend. We are intentionally striving to make lasting change, just like we do on climate. To me it’s about leading with compassion, and I know that will come back to us in the form of gratitude, which we could all use right now, and it just might lift all of our spirits.
With appreciation,
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King August 28, 1963