Northern Michigan University 2017 alumnus Benjamin Bartz of Wakefield has been appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the state's Ski Area Safety Board. He is chief of mountain operations at Midwest Family Ski Resorts, which owns the rebranded Snowriver Mountain Resort that includes the areas formerly called Indianhead and Blackjack.
"As a kid, I spent nearly every weekend traveling north to ski with my family in Big Snow Country," he wrote on the Snowriver website. "I fell in love with skiing here in the U.P., where I made countless memories. I dreamt of turning my love of skiing into a lifestyle, and by the time I entered high school, I knew a career in the ski business was all I wanted to pursue."
Bartz earned a bachelor's degree in ski area business management from NMU after completing an associate degree at Gogebic Community College. He interned at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, and later spent five years as mountain operations manager at Giants Ridge in northern Minnesota before returning to the Upper Peninsula to join Midwest Family Ski Resorts.
According to SAM Magazine, which covers the ski area management industry, Bartz has been tagged as a rising star in recent years. In 2019, he was nominated for, and appeared in, SAM's "10 Under 30,” which highlights 20-something industry professionals who are working toward bigger roles. More recently, he was a mentee in SAM's Summit Series leadership development program.
Bartz's term representing U.P. ski area managers on the state board begins June 9 and expires June 8, 2028.