I'm shocked by the upset that Covid has caused our team after nearly a year of limitations and restrictions. I just want to do whatever it takes to get past the rise in cases and deaths. I am grateful to be able to go to the store and to work, and a few other essential places. I am not even considering trips for pleasure right now, thanks mostly to those who are not adhering to the restrictions set by our government. My employer asks me to curb unnecessary travel? You got it! My works asks the customers not to travel? No way! They should be doing that on their own, based on Governments guidelines. Essential travel is okay. Non-essential travel is not cool. Let's get past the county we operate in being in the highest level- EXTREME- and we can lighten up a little. Or can we? If we don't take this more seriously than we have been we can plan to continue with high cases/deaths and restrictions being imposed and asked of us. Poor me, I can't travel freely right now. Well, I could but I choose not to. And if I do, I am simply being asked to observe the governments quarantine. It would seem silly for Meadows to send folks around out of state when this is what is being asked of the citizens. It's temporary too. I appreciate Meadows' stance on COVID operations. Not like they enjoy having to make things harder than they already are but they are not to blame. I would give a higher score but COVID has made it harder for everyone this season, myself included.
Thanks for your comments and willingness to make the sacrifices being asked by our government to reduce the spread of Covid. The more we can all take that approach the more the risk will be reduced for all.
- Jeremy Riss
Thank you for keeping us safe and able to operate this year. I appreciate having a job and being able to work during COVID. You promoted some great people in our department and I was so happy to see talented women filling these roles. I didn't know what to expect this year but I am pleased that Meadows has done the right thing no matter how challenging, expensive or unpopular it is.
Also, thank you HR for the meme of the week it makes me smile every week. The Bernie one this week make me LOL.
Thank you for the positive comments, it is great to hear the new supervisors are rocking it in the MLC.
- Jeremy Riss
This summer the leadership team and everybody employed during that time did a great job addressing the inequalities in our country. In response to the George Floyd pretests, we had breakout sessions to talk about racial issues, sought advice from a consultant, and addressed the public about our shortcomings. It was good work in the right direction. It seemed as though we cared about these issues.
That being said, I was disappointed by our public statement on MLK day. "A call for Unity" is a platitude sandwich that was hard to see being served. With whom are we calling for unity? People who want to put our season at risk by not wearing protective gear? People who want to overthrow our democratic institutions? I think there is a great MLK quote to talk about our statement for MLK Day: "[America] has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity."
Instead of unity, lets talk about equity, about work to still be done and about progress that our company has made. Lets do what we set out to accomplish this summer.
Thank you for sharing your comments about our social post to honor Dr. King on MLK holiday. We appreciate your reminder that as a company we made progress. While we have been focused on operating day to day with the threat of COVID, we can not forget the good work that was started last summer in the areas of justice, equality, diversity and inclusiveness.
We feel that the timing of our post to recognize Dr. King, considering it was sandwiched between the insurrection on January 6 and the inauguration on January 20, was appropriate. We felt a call for unity was the right message for our guests who we want to feel welcome at Meadows, and emphasizing what we have in common is important, especially when there already exists so much division.
However, a call unity is not asking people to forgive and forget, while enduring injustices. The quote we chose envisions a society that seeks to be at peace with itself even though there are no quick solutions. We must keep going. And we must keep working in these areas.
We thank you for reminding us of the efforts and commitments we made to become a more inclusive and fair company. And we will reaffirm our efforts to move forward.
Here’s another King quote that is relevant:
“Kindness matters.
But kindness does not = justice.
Civility counts.
But calling for civility is not the humane response to injustice.
Justice is.
Love is essential.
But love is not a passive, weeping bystander.
Love puts in the work.”
As individuals, as a company and as a society, we need to put in the work.
-Dave Tragethon
Being my first season working at Meadows as well as the first season amidst COVID, I was initially skeptical. Alas, my skepticism was unfounded. Everyone in HR was a huge help with onboarding/I-9/benefits questions. The couple of times I've come up to ski on a non-workday, I've had excellent experiences with everyone, and especially those in Lift Ops. I work in Sahale, and all the kitchen supervisors have done a great job checking-in and providing helpful feedback (especially Jeff, Jacob, Jordan, and Hannah). I've seen several team members comment negatively regarding certain COVID protocols, but I would venture to guess upper management has never had to manage a ski resort during a pandemic. All COVID-related action that I've seen taken has been positive given the unprecedentedness of this situation. Overall, my Meadows experience has been hugely positive and everyone I've interacted with has been doing a great job. Thank you for that!
Thank you for the positive comment! I'm glad things have been smooth and although smaller than in a normal year I think the Culinary operation is going better than ever.
- Jeremy Riss
First comment. There are many of employees who gave up good jobs to come work at meadows in exchange to snowboard for the season, most of us make about minimum wage. I feel as though the mountain exchange cut has made it hard for alot of us to justify working for such low income, especially when alot of us moved from different states for this job. We are all aware of covid and all practice proper safety precautions. But the cut in the main benefit we have is not fair to a crew who has been doing amazing with covid response.
Second comment. As night shift it is frustrating that we are made to park at sunrise when we get off work around 10. There is no shuttle that takes us there and if we take our lunch break to go get our car that's our whole lunch break gone. I get it first come first serve but I feel as though a section should be held for the crew that comes and makes this mountain operation possible. It's not fun walking to sunrise at 10pm at night.
It is getting better! The guests are covering up and the hostility is coming down. YEAH Thanks for keeping up the reminders and signage.
Also, the team appreciation meal discount is awesome, thanks.
And now that we have made it through January, it can snow again!
Thanks for the positive comment, it is great to know the increased meal discount was well received.
- Jeremy Riss
Just wanted you to know I appreciate all your hard work regarding Covid. I guess my friends and I had one of the last exchange letters given before the pause in the exchange program. Wanted to let you know we chose not to use them because you asked us not to. For the good of all.
Thank you for making that tough decision that reduces the risk of spreading Covid. There have been many challenges this season but when I hear about how things are going at other resorts overall I think the whole team at Meadows is doing an incredible job.
-Jeremy Riss
I really appreciate MHM's recent firmer stance on non-compliant guests and our COVID-19 / mask policies. It clearly demonstrates MHM values the health and safety of its employees and guests. Thank you!
I'm a full time employee and i'm seriously considering leaving meadows for timberline after meadows suspended our employee exchange. Meadows continues to shift the covid burden on its employees cutting hours for kids lessons and lunch perks and now cutting other benefits like the employee exchange. They have done this while failing to offer us any other compensation or perk.
All of our employees have received training to keep us safe while in our resort. Meadows employees are much more likely to follow safety guidelines at another resort.
Riding at resorts during covid is either safe or it's not. If it's not safe to ski at other resorts then meadows shouldn't be operating. If this program isn't reinstated expect to receive my two weeks notice as I was hired under the pretense that this was a perk Meadows offered to employees. If meadows leadership is seriously concerned about travel, don't allow out of state guests to ski at our resort and allow a Mt. Hood area resort exchange to continue. (Timberline, Skibowl)
Second topic:
Are instructors considered "educators" for the purpose of getting vaccine priority?
As part of an effort to improve the guest experience while focusing on positive behavior, the Lift Ops team has come up with the idea of creating a sticker for each lift. The sticker would represent the vibe of the lift and would be given to guests that exhibit and exemplify kindness, patience and grace as well as continual adherence to Covid protocols. Stoke Stickers. It is our hope that guests would want the stickers “how do I get one?” And collect them. If we tied it into a social media campaign - show us your stickers.... We could use help in designing stickers. I’m sure there are lots of talented designers on the team that would be willing to create a sticker.
That is a great idea. One concern would be we have tried to avoid giving out stickers as people tend to stick them on the lifts and they are difficult to get off. I wonder if there is something similar we could do that is not a sticker?
-Jeremy Riss