Smokey Mountain Ski Club has recovered from the brink of disaster.
Future looks bright for the troubled ski cub, said Toby Leon, Smokey's president and guest speaker at the Hyron Regional Economic Development Corporation's 14th annual general meeting held in Labrador Gateway's exhibit hall, June 8.
With infrastructure crumbling and the loss of community support, Leon admitted that it looked like the club had no future.
However, he said, once Smokey's board came up with a solid financial plan, the funding that was not forthcoming, came in.
"We got the support of the community, is really what happened," exclaimed Leon. "The companies were looking for a solid direction. They didn't want to be told that things were falling apart, they wanted to feel that it was going to be put back together."
He said it helped that people with useful qualifications in finance and equipment came on board to put together a budget that worked and showed the club could maintain their equipment.
The mining companies also came through, he admitted, giving in-kind service that would have cost the club thousands of dollars.
At the end of last year, Smokey was $250,000 in debt, he added, but now they have written off $54,000 of the long-term debt and reduced the short-term debt so that the total debt comes to around $110,000.
"[In the past], the community didn't want any part of giving more credit and rightly so," he said. "Financially at the moment we're in very good shape, but we do need the community, government, and mining companies to stay behind us. The end goal is to be completely out of debt and have a facility that's essentially new."
"We would like to see Smokey as a year-round recreational facility to service whatever parts of the community that want to get involved," he said of the future goal.
However, the good news didn't stop there at the AGM.
Balanced books
Hyron came out with balanced books and Shauna Strickland, Hyron executive director, touted the success of several initiatives in the past year such as the publication of a tourism booklet now available at the Gateway, facilitation of a Groomer Operator Training Program in Labrador West, and promotion of foreign investment kits.
She said that the future looks bright for Zone Two, especially in light of local mines' expansion projects, which will bring new employment and businesses to the region.
She's also exited about upcoming initiatives such as the East meets West meets North Summer Expo held in Labrador West July 29-August 1, which will highlight the region's tourism, community, attractions, industry, culture, and heritage.
"Hyron's been around for 12 years," she said. "I don't see us going anywhere, as long as we've got community support and funding from our federal and provincial partners."
She noted that the corporation is driven by a volunteer board and run from ground-up, taking directions from the community's residents.
Member at Large - Town of Labrador City - Doris Sacery
Member at Large - Town of Wabush - Gary O'Brien
Member at Large - Town of Churchill Falls - Nicola Tackowski
Tourism, Culture and Recreation Seat - Toby Leon
Non-Government Seats - Mona Lebel and Gerry Rideout
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