Officials rally ‘Bigrock Nation’
to pledge money, support
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
BILL GETMAN, right, general manager of Bigrock Mountain, and Ryan Guerrette, operations manager, conducted a town hall meeting last Wednesday night giving the nearly 80 Aroostook County residents in attendance the opportunity learn more about the mountain’s financial difficulty and ask questions about the ski area’s future. In order to be operational this winter, Bigrock will need to raise $150,000 by mid-September.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
MARS HILL — Nearly 80 Aroostook County residents attended a town hall meeting last Wednesday night to learn more about Bigrock Mountain’s financial plight and to see what they can do to keep the mountain from closing.
The non-profit Maine Winter Sports Center, which had owned the Bigrock Mountain community ski area since 2000 and had administered outside financial support from the Libra Foundation, announced Aug. 6 that it was ending its relationship with the mountain.
“For years, Bigrock has run a deficit,” said Bigrock General Manager Bill Getman, “and there had been hints that people were getting tired of making up the loss. Last year, Maine Winter Sports Center took an aggressive, new business approach and went with a $15 ticket and a $150 season pass, and the theory was that you would get more skiers, get more people in the kitchen, we’d be renting more skis and selling more out of the retail store, and that would be able to close the gap.
“We did get more skiers, we did sell more stuff, but we still had a deficit. We had more season pass ticket sales last year than we did the year before, but the downside was we generated less income because we charged less,” Getman said. “Sometime this summer the Libra Foundation and Maine Winter Sports Center decided that they were no longer willing — or in a position — to write off our loss. On Aug. 6, when the announcement was made, Bigrock effectively closed.”
Getman told those in attendance that the town of Mars Hill is by no means going to take over the mountain.
“They’re going to support it in any way that they can — not financially — but they’ll give us moral support, they’ll facilitate for us, they’ll make contacts for us, but as far as taking over Bigrock, Mars Hill will have no influence whatsoever,” he said.
In order to be operational this winter, Bigrock will need to raise $150,000 by mid-September.
An organization called The Friends of Bigrock recently formed and has begun a fund-raising website to receive donations with the goal of raising $30,000.
“That $30,000 is just one portion of the whole mix,” explained Getman. “The Friends of Bigrock is trying to get some community support, but there is another group working behind the scenes looking for corporate donors, trying to raise funds, and talking to individuals who are influential and can help us out. They have not yet come forward; things aren’t quite in place and they’re not comfortable coming forward yet, but we anticipate them making an announcement in the next couple of weeks saying that they’re on board and that they’re going to help Bigrock.
“The exciting thing that I like about this group is that they’re looking for a three-year commitment,” he said. “They’re looking to make this operation sustainable for three years. The group is not interested in taking over the assets, so if Bigrock ceases to operate as a skiing operation, the assets will be reverted and given back to the Maine Winter Sports Center. The group that’s working behind the scenes wants to see what kind of support that the Bigrock Nation can bring to the table and that’s why we’re here tonight. We need to show enthusiasm, and we need commitments whether it’s financial, time or ideas … we’re wide open. I’m optimistic that things are going to come together, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
Ryan Guerrette, operations manager at Bigrock, said that should the community raise the necessary $150,000, Maine Winter Sports Center would turn the operation over to a local board of directors.
“That would mean that we would have local control of the ski area. Currently the Maine Winter Sports Center is really dictating what’s going on here,” he said. “We have a board of directors but they’re more of an advisory committee than they are anything else. If we can raise the money, Maine Winter Sports Center will work with the board during the transition and then they’ll step away.
“If we don’t raise the $150,000, all donations will be returned back to the donors,” said Guerrette, noting that staff has been given four weeks of summer work. “If we don’t raise those funds, after four weeks we won’t have any staff here.”
“I probably have more money in my back pocket than we do in our checking account,” Getman said. “We’re getting support from the Maine Winter Sports Center to pay salaries and that’s basically it. We can do some mowing and we have some gas in the tank, but we can’t go out and buy slats and start repairing the double chairs. We’re doing as much as we can without any additional expenditures.”
The four biggest expenses of operating Bigrock, as with any ski area Guerrette said, are labor, power, fuel and liability insurance.
Some of those in attendance said they wished they knew who the “behind-the-scenes group” were before they agreed to make a financial donation.
“I’d be a lot more comfortable making a donation if I knew who was managing my money,” said Presque Isle resident Mike Chasse.
During the hour-long discussion, a number of ideas were suggested including offering a pre-season sale on tickets/passes, conducting an online survey to gauge how much people are willing to pay for those tickets, offering a half-day ticket price, providing both adult and children’s prices, increasing the sponsorship for the Wednesday business sponsored ski night, adjusting the hours of operation, finding someone to help write grants, and encouraging other recreationalists such ATVers and snowmobilers to use the mountain.
“We’re looking for any and all ideas,” said Getman. “Everything will be on the table.”
Among the ways community members can currently assist in the fund-raising efforts include:
• Helping get the message out by sharing Bigrock posts or announcements on Facebook, forwarding e-mails to their contact list, and directing potential donors to the www.gofundme.com/save-BigrockMountain page.
• Encouraging everyone to get involved either by joining the fund-raising campaign, the fund-raising committee or by making a donation.
“No donation is too big or too small,” said Guerrette. “It all adds up, and all donations are tax deductible.”
• Supporting and attending any fund-raising events that Bigrock hosts.
“We need support, we need help, and we need involvement,” Getman said. “All of it is needed.”
For more information, log onto www.bigrockmaine.com or call Getman at 425-6711 or Guerrette at 227-8165.