My name is Jack Turner. I served as event manager for the first three Park City World Cups and the America’s Opening pro ski races from 1985 through 1989. I was also co-founder and executive director of the Utah Winter Games, and an Executive Committee member of the Salt Lake Winter Games Organiz ing Committee during that time. I’d like to offer two clarifications to Tom Kelly’s Dec. 3 Ridgelines column, “Thanksgiving at the races.” He referred to me as a “marketing guru,” but my role was event management, not marketing. The marketing and PR leadership for those events belonged to Robbie Beck, Mark Menlove, and Charlie Lansche. My responsibilities, together with the mountain crews, were infrastructure and operations: generators, sound systems, bleachers, VIP tents, timing trailers, giant screens, television setup, event dressing (flags, banners, signage, and décor), and the on-snow ceremonies that introduced many innovations that later became standard for World Cup events and even the Olympic Winter Games. Those projects required weeks of preparation, long days on the mountain, and physically demanding, often high risk, work. After the last racer crossed the line and the crowds disappeared, those crews were on-slope into the night cleaning up. They never finished in time to attend parties and ceremonies with athletes, sponsors, VIPs, celebrities and the public that loved Park City events. The folks left on the hill, employees and volunteers, rarely get recognized in historical recollections. Regarding Kelly’s reference to faked timing during the speed-skiing demonstration, the situation deserves context. Saturday’s event, timed by Summit County sheriff’s deputies, was entirely legitimate. On Sunday, however, with more than 5,000 spectators, sponsors, ESPN, local television and media waiting, we discovered moments before start that the deputies didn’t show up. Canceling on the spot would have been a public embarrassment and a disappointment to everyone, especially Park City. To keep the show alive and maintain excitement between runs, I made the decision to announce demonstration speeds based on the previous day’s performance adjusted for a higher start. The athletes still tucked Payday at full speed, and the everyone loved it. There were no points, prizes, or consequences at stake, just pure entertainment, which was the sole purpose of the demonstration. Improvisation, not dishonesty or marketing hucksterism, was the story that day. The column was correct in acknowledging Craig Badami, a fun-loving, visionary whose influence on Park City and international ski racing cannot be overstated. Very few realize how pivotal his generosity and work was in ultimately securing the Olympic Winter Games for Utah. Thank you for the opportunity to add this perspective to Park City’s ski-racing history. Jack Turner The post Only for fun appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less