Mountain Village resident Pam Pettee to be inducted into Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame
Mountain Village resident Pam Pettee will be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame this year as announced earlier this week. She is joined in the 2020 incoming class by iconic ski resort trail map artist James Nieheus.
Pettee was nominated as a ski industry pioneer for blazing a trail in the promotion and media relations arenas for the Colorado ski industry with stints at Vail, Colorado Ski Country USA and Telluride, in addition to being a ski industry lobbyist, accomplished public relations consultant and freelance ski writer.
Pam (Conklin) Pettee joined Vail Associates in 1973, while also serving the state’s ski industry as chair of the Colorado Ski Country USA public information committee and a member of the public affairs committee. In addition, she was an associate member of the Rocky Mountain Ski Writers, a member of Colorado Press women, was on the Women’s Forum of Colorado and the board of the Colorado Ski Museum. At Vail, she worked with President Gerald Ford, skillfully handling the national media and White House press corps during his ski vacations. Pam also dealt with the 1976 malfunction on the Lionshead Gondola that resulted in two cars falling from the cable and plummeting to the ground 50 feet below, causing four fatalities and eight injured. Pam organized press conferences, gathered all of the information she could, and accommodated television coverage. Pam left Vail in 1977 to become Director of Public Affairs for Colorado Ski Country, USA, while becoming a registered lobbyist for Colorado skiing at the State Capitol. She formed her own ski consulting business in 1979, but returned to Colorado Ski Country, USA, as acting director, when the director took a leave of absence from the job. In demand as a public relations consultant, she established her own firm, with clients including United Airlines, Ski Industries of America, National Ski Areas Association, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Ski the Rockies and many others. As a freelance writer, Pam was prolific in promoting Colorado skiing.
Pettee is joined in the 2020 class of inductees by James Niehues (the iconic ski resort trail artist), David Stapleton Jr. (of Aspen), Ellen Post Foster (of Beaver Creek) and Scott Rawles (of Breckenridge).
The official induction ceremony is tentatively scheduled for October 17 in the Vail Valley.
The five Hall of Fame inductees were elected from a field of 15 nominees that also included Tracey and Tim Canaday (Denver), Eugene Dayton (Breckenridge), Paul Folwell (Durango), Ralf Garrison (Denver), Rik Heid (Vail), Harley Higbie (Vail), Ron LeMaster (Boulder), Ted Martin (Vail), John Norton (Aspen), Sigurd Rokne (Breckenridge) and Annie Varielle-Savath (Telluride).
Hall of Fame candidates are nominated under the established criteria of Athlete, Sport Builder, Inspirational or Pioneer categories, with the Hall of Fame Nomination Committee evaluating and confirming the nominees to move onto the final ballot. The 140-member Hall of Fame Voting Panel is comprised of current Hall of Fame members, key ski industry representatives and the Hall’s board of directors and Nomination Committee.
For a full release, please visit the Colorado Snowsports Museum's website.
