DAVIS, W.Va. — The CEO of Timberline Mountain in Tucker County is receiving this year’s National Ski Areas Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chip Perfect received the award Monday at the organization’s annual meeting in Marco Island, Florida.
He said the ski industry only continues to grow and develop, and he’s proud he can serve as part of that.
“As I said in my speech today, the ski business is what excites me and I always encourage people to get into it,” Perfect said. “I’m excited about the future, we’ve had an amazing past, it has been an amazing lifetime, but we’re just going to keep going.”
The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to NSAA and the ski industry, and whose leadership will benefit the industry for years to come.
Perfect boasts a 45-year career in the ski industry, serving first as owner of Perfect North Slopes in Indiana in 1980, he has now went on to oversee Timberline Mountain since 2019. In addition, Perfect just recently purchased Swiss Family Ski and Snowboard Area in Michigan.
He said as much as they have put into developing the infrastructure at Timberline, it’s great to see the investments pay off.
“It has just really been amazing, I mean we knew we had to skills to do a great job with the ski area, but the fact that it inspired the whole community is not something we expected, and we have been so proud of how everybody else has responded and it has been a really great experience,” he said.
Perfect said that being an effective leader in the ski resort industry comes down to one thing– creating a strong environment where such an industry can thrive.
“It’s really about the same thing, and that’s inviting people out to have a good time, and no matter where you are, you can do that,” Perfect said. “We were beginners when we started in the ski industry, and so, we tend to gravitate toward beginner skiers and try and make sure they have a great time.”