Gratitude - Things We're Grateful For In Greater Park City

Hello Folks,

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the entire year, every year. It is the time I most reflect on how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, loving family, and how lucky I am to live in this wonderful town of ours.

This year it looks like the Snow Gods are going to smile on us and we have our first solid storm of the Winter season due tomorrow through Saturday. We are expecting at least a few feet of snow. As many you know, I grew up in Australia, where the Holidays fall in the middle of Summer. I have vivid memories of being a small child singing “White Christmas” with sweat dripping down my nose wondering what fuss was all about. I was 32 years old before I experienced a snowy Holiday Season, and then it all made sense. The Holidays are meant to be White!

Wishing you and your Loved Ones a wonderful Thanksgiving and a special Holiday Season.

Murray Gardner

We have so much to be thankful for as residents of Park City and the Wasatch Back. As locals, we have the privilege of living where others come to play in “Winter’s Favorite Town.” We are thankful for so much abundance in our community. Here are the standouts:

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: Incredible mountain sunrises and sunsets that fill the skies with an incredible palette of colors to accentuate our 229 average days per year of sunshine. Beyond the views we also enjoy clean air, open spaces, with visionary leadership and non-profits that keep open lands at the forefront of our community’s agenda.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: An amazing philanthropic community that supports the 100+ non-profits in a big way – our recent Live PC Give PC fundraising event raised over $2.4 million to support the wonderful non-profit organizations that do so much to enrich our lives.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: Hundreds of miles of trails for hiking, biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing where moose, elk and deer sightings are an everyday possibility…we are so thankful to the Mountain Trails Foundation for creating this vast network of trails and maintaining them in pristine condition.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: The outstanding array of cultural offerings in Park City, Salt Lake, and along the Wasatch Back including: national musical talent, Broadway performances, comedy shows, a plethora of outdoor concert venues and of course the Sundance Film Festival.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: The Eccles Family Foundation for all their philanthropic support of our numerous cultural venues locally and throughout the state.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: Our Park City school district teachers who work tirelessly to shape our children’s lives both academically and socially. Our teachers inspire and motivate our children to become outstanding citizens of the community and world. They have possibly the most important job in our community, and we are incredibly thankful for their efforts!

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: Our home-grown and imported athletes who benefit so much from the facilities built as part of the legacy of hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Authentic athleticism is everywhere in Park City. You’re likely to bump into an Olympian just about anywhere in and around town, and outdoor attire here isn’t so much a fashion statement as a practical necessity for our active lifestyles. And those fancy bike racks on the back of every car which cradle a treasure trove of road bikes, mountain bikes and fat tire bikes get used a lot. We play hard here.

WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR: An amazing quality of life here – one that focuses on family and our shared love for the outdoors. Whether it be snowboarding, skiing, biking, hiking, rafting, kayaking, free outdoor concerts, shopping, eating, and enjoying spirits – we get to enjoy it all with our family and friends.

BUSINESSES TO WHOM
WE EXTEND SPECIAL THANKS…

KPCW and The Park Record for keeping us so well informed on everything about Park City and the Wasatch Back. We are especially thankful for KPCW’s Lost and Found segment – lost dogs, cell phones, keys always seem to find their way home thanks to this broadcast.

Vail Resorts’ Epic Promise Program has added millions of dollars to the coffers of our treasured non-profits.

Bill White and Bill White Restaurant Group In addition to his delectable eateries including Grappa, Wahso, Chimayo, Sushi Blue, Windy Ridge, Windy Ridge Baker, Billy Blanco and Ghiodotti, Bill is such a strong supporter of the community and giving back, including his Bill White Farms on Highway 224, which teaches children the importance of farming and sustainability. We also LOVE his colorful light display that greets us on the entry corridor to Park City all winter long!

WE ARE ESPECIALLY THANKFUL
FOR THESE NON-PROFITS

The National Ability Center which empowers individuals and athletes of all abilities by building self-esteem, confidence and lifetime skills through sport, recreation and educational programs. They are widely considered one of the finest abilities programs in the nation.

Mountain Trails Foundation for their constant improvement of our trails network and user education programs.

Community for Children’s Justice and the Peace House for their support of victims of domestic violence in our community. Both organizations have newly expanded home bases made possible by the enormous generosity of our community.

Park City Library, a resource for LIFE: books, DVDs, computers, video cameras, software, green screen, sound booth, the coffee shop, and the popular Park City Film Series.

WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY’S
UNIQUE EVENTS

Aerials and Moguls at Deer Valley and Half Pipe at Park City Resort and World Cup BobSled at Utah Olympic Park,
The Ice Castles in Midway during the coldest part of the season.
Park City’s fabulous old-fashioned, newly twisted July 4th Parade and Celebration Free Summer Concerts almost every night of the week in summer throughout the community
The Oakley Rodeo over the 4th of July holiday.
The Kimball Arts Festival
The Mucking and Drilling Competition on Miner’s Day (Labor Day) – a fun competition that harkens back to our deep mining past which is a thrill to watch in City Park!
Swiss Days in Midway over Labor Day Weekend
Cowboy Poetry every fall in the Heber Valley

MUCH GRATITUDE TO OUR
IMPACTFUL LOCAL LEADERS!

Myles Rademan is the person most responsible for the preservation of open space so critical to our community’s character as he mapped this priority in our community visioning back in the 1990’s. Myles also launched our annual Leadership training program which has generated so many great leaders in town.

Wendy Fisher is the founding member of Utah Open Lands and a champion of conservation easements.

Andy Beerman is Park City’s Mayor, who exemplifies the Park City lifestyle, works hard, plays hard, protects the environment, and gets in a mountain bike ride every day!

Meeche White co-founded the National Ability Center and still serves their Board and who is now consulting around the world to help other communities create Ability Center’s modeled after ours.

Charlie Sturgis was voted 2018 Citizen of the Year by the Park City Rotary Club. He’s been at the helm of Mountain Trails since its inception, and he’s still preaching his mantra of practicing 10 Seconds of Kindness out on the trails as well as his frequent and humorous reminders that there is no Poop Fairy.

Bob Wheaton has led the team at Deer Valley® Resort for 38 years, showing his devoted employees how to run a top-tier destination ski resort, with legendary customer service, dining, and lodging that are affectionately referred to as The Deer Valley Difference. He led by example, doing whatever it took to provide guest satisfaction. It wasn’t uncommon to see him helping a “liftie” on a busy day or picking up a speck of trash. As he transitions to Senior Strategic Advisor for Alterra Mountain Company, the resort’s new owner, we thank him profusely for ‘keeping Deer Valley, Deer Valley.’