When Local Businesses Team Up
When Local Businesses Team Up
Weed Ross and The Boardroom Snowboard Shop Join Forces to Support the HoliMont Snowboard Team
It’s a word I use often: Community. And a great example of community: Ellicottville.
I love hearing about notable fundraising projects that bring people together. I love seeing new businesses open and existing businesses jumping in to offer a warm welcome. I love watching our local sports teams and athletes cheering each other on. I love when community members/business owners team up to provide assistance for area programs and organizations - especially when the recipients are our youth.
Two Ellicottville-based businesses - Weed Ross Insurance and The Boardroom Snowboard Shop - joined forces this winter to give a group of young snowboarders a boost in the sport that the business owners themselves are very passionate about.
HoliMont has played a key role in helping to produce multiple Olympian snowboard racers, including Darren Gardner and Meghan Farrell. However, over the last several years, HoliMont has seen a shift in its snowboard program. What was once a program focused on racing gates in hardboots has evolved into a freestyle team determined to master the terrain parks. You may not have noticed this growing group of softboot shredders on the hill dressed in their own personal coats and pants, but you certainly will be able to recognize them this year. Thanks to Weed Ross and the The Boardroom, each HoliMont Snowboard Team member is now outfitted with a “HoliMont Snowboard Team” jacket. It may not seem like a big deal on the outside, but for the kids, it’s a feeling of inclusion and pride, and “being official,” as one team member expressed. For the sponsoring businesses, it’s just what they do. And that’s what makes this community so special.
“The best and most rewarding part of owning Weed Ross has been the ability to give back to the local community,” said Sean Cornelius. “We support many events and charities in our area throughout the year. Supporting the HoliMont Snowboard Team/Program is something that is near and dear to my heart. I have been snowboarding since I was 12-years-old and it has been a major part of my life. My sons, Harrison and Finn, have now found the same love for snowboarding that I have, and this team has been excellent for them.”
As for Timkey, he and his shop need no introduction. A family-run business going on 38 years strong, Spencer is the second generation of The Boardroom Snowboard Shop and snowboarding advocacy. The Burton jackets provided by The Boardroom - coupled with the HoliMont Snowboard Team name and sponsoring business logos applied on the jackets by Sports Locker of Olean - has each HoliMont Snowboard Team member and coach now proudly donning their passion on and off the slopes.
“We pride ourselves on being the standard bearers of snowboarding in WNY, and with that comes the responsibility of doing everything in our power to support it,” said Timkey. “When Sean approached us with the idea of providing jackets to the team, we couldn’t say yes fast enough. HoliMont’s burgeoning snowboard program, flush with groms, provides a glimpse into the future. We know a lot of these kids, and the coolest thing is they pride themselves on being snowboarders. It’s apparent the snowboarding scene in the region is alive and very well, and we’re proud to partner with Weed Ross on this one.”
HoliMont’s terrain park-based snowboard program launched six winters ago with just a few participants. Fast-forward to 2023 and the program now has 20+ members. The program follows in the footsteps of its predecessor when it comes to teaching the core values that come from an individualized/team sport - discipline, self-image, confidence, communication, and of course, teamwork. The growth and progression is apparent in each and every one of them.
“I have gotten to know the kids and the parents that are involved with the team and it is a great group,” said Cornelius. “We are very appreciative of Spencer and The Boardroom, who very enthusiastically agreed to partner with Weed Ross on this. We look forward to seeing this program grow and the sport of snowboarding continue to grow.”
No doubt you’ll be hearing more about the HoliMont Snowboard Team in the future as they begin to dive deeper into the competition realm of the sport. And surely it’s only a matter of time before Ellicottville unleashes its next Olympian.
