Colorado Ski Country USA honors Summit County employees with ski industry awards
Colorado Ski Country USA/Courtesy photo
On Friday, June 13, Colorado Ski Country USA formally announced the winners of its 2024-25 Double Diamond Awards.
The Double Diamond Awards honor the men and women behind the snow. Among this year’s list of award recipients were two Summit County employees in James “Jim-Bob” Arnold of Copper Mountain Resort and Scott Fitzwilliams of the White River National Forest.
Arnold was honored with the Groomer of the Year award due to his commitment to early-season performance, willingness to do the tough jobs first and his engineering expertise. Arnold started working at Copper in 1980 and has since helped shape mountain operations across the country.
Fitzwilliams was awarded with the Chair’s Award at the Colorado Ski Country USA ceremony on June 5th at Infinity Park in Glendale. Recently retired from being the supervisor of the White River National Forest, Fitzwilliams spent more than 15 years overseeing 2.3 million acres and 11 ski areas.
Throughout his career, Fitzwilliams found the proper balance between recreation, conservation and community. Additionally, his initiatives — from the Front Country Ranger Program to workforce-housing leases and wildfire recovery — set a new benchmark for collaborative stewardship.
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