Today, we received a great update on Crystal Mountain Resort from John Melcher, the CEO, and Karyn Thorr, the COO. Their story began with a brief history of how it all started 69 years ago and wrapped up with a preview of some exciting projects in the works.
Crystal Mountain is a community within our community that has something fun to offer for everyone, 365 days a year! It started with a geography teacher at Benzonia High challenging his students to find the best place in Benzie County to create a ski area. Sixty-nine years later, Crystal Mountain is a full-service destination resort with an extensive offering of activities, services, and amenities – so much more than just skiing and golfing! Crystal Mountain is also a great partner in the community with ongoing relationships with the Michigan Legacy Art Park, Mrs. Mullen’s Closet, Homestretch, the Thompsonville Area Restoration Project (TART), and Ferris State, just to mention a few. And of course, we are grateful to Crystal Mountain as our partner for the Bike Benzie Tour.
So, what exciting projects can we look forward to in the future? A new Mountain Operations Center, a new building with retail and lodging at the base of the Loki Chair called First Tracks, the Crystal Community Apartments, an affordable housing complex to be built on land donated by Crystal, and flush toilets at the Golf Learning Center/Nordic Center. Thank you, John and Karyn - and thank you to our own Chris MacInnes (Petritz) and her family for nurturing and growing this beautiful gem we are so fortunate to have in our community.