NOW this… by Brenda
NOW this… by Brenda
It ain’t over til the Snowmakers Ball
With the end of another ski season, let us reflect back on winter. A slow start, followed by a few good dumps, sprinkled with some unwanted thaws, but always a good time with good friends. Those 60-degree days were quite a tease, weren’t they?
It takes an extreme level of teamwork to make our resorts run smoothly. From customer service to snowsports instructors to the liftees, ski/safety patrol, cafeteria staff, lodge attendants, retail sales associates … those are the people you see when you visit the resorts. What about the ones that work behind the scenes?
We pay homage to winter’s unsung heroes. The ones who give Mother Nature a helping hand. The ones who work all hours of the night so that we can enjoy making turns down freshly groomed corduroy. The ones who keep the lifts spinning and in safe, working order. We call them the magic makers.
Enter Snowmaker. Enter Groomer. Enter Lift Maintenance. Enter ALL of Mountain Operations.
Come celebrate the mountain ops crews of both Holiday Valley and HoliMont ski areas at the Snowmakers Ball set for April 20th at Villaggio. A tradition running 7 years strong (minus Covid), owner Nick Pitillo and his staff are planning yet another stellar gathering to commemorate these wonderful winter workers.
The deets: Wednesday, April 20th from 6:00-9:00pm. Everyone is invited! Come show your support and meet the crew members that make it happen all winter long! $20 includes all-you-can-eat pasta bar plus an assortment of snacks from other local restaurants. Chris Maloney will be playing some tunes, and all mountain crew attendees will receive a goodie bag and t-shirt. There will be 50/50’s and basket raffles, along with a few other surprises.
“It’s called the Snowmakers Ball, but it’s really a celebration of all that are on the mountain crews of both our awesome resorts,” said Pitillo. “It’s our way of saying thank you for all that they do for our resorts and ultimately our village.”
Speaking of village, the Snowmakers Ball really is a village team effort. Pitillo is putting a callout to local restaurants interested in donating an appetizer for the event. Businesses as well as community members are welcome to donate a gift basket for the raffle. If this year is like anything in years past, you can count on a nice food spread and lots of amazing items up for grabs. To donate, reach out to the big man himself: nick@osteriabuffalo.com.
Double the support: Money raised from the Snowmakers Ball not only supports the evening and the wonderful gifts for our mountain ops members, but anything remaining will go into the Frank Pitillo Lighting Fund.
“Many of you may not know this, but the lights over the Ellicottville Central School Football Field were put up in honor of my late brother, Frank Pitillo, in 1977,” explained Nick. “Frank was a world class athlete that was doubling up his junior and senior year of high school so he could begin his training with the U.S. Ski Team, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident. The entire town, led by my father Mike, and my mother Joan, John Northrup, Mark Ward, Bob McRae, and so many others, rallied together to raise the funds to light the field in his honor. I vividly remember being held up by my dad, in my little league football uniform, to throw the switch on the lights for the very first time.”
Fast forward many years later (45 years to be exact), and those lights are in dire need of attention. In true Pitillo fashion, fundraising efforts to replace the lights in Frank’s memory are underway. Stay tuned to ellicottivilleNOW for updates.
Brenda Perks is the publisher/designer of ellicottvilleNOW and owner of DesignPerks, a graphic design company affiliated with the local media/marketing agency, PaNDaGOAT Media. You can reach Brenda at brenda@ellicottvillenow.com.
