Minutes into Dick Kun?s interview on the prospect that Snow Summit Ski Corp. could be sold ? with the board of directors for the Big Bear Lake company operating Snow Summit and Bear Mountain resorts hiring Houlihan Lokey to explore opportunities for a possible sale ? the video button on the smartphone daughter Dominique was holding snapped on.
Like us, Dominique wanted to capture the thoughts of a family patriarch who has seen the resort through moments of triumph and frustration, iron resolution and international success.
Dominique Kun
?He knows this company like a person knows himself,? she said afterward. ?There?s honor here that?s rooted across generations.?
Kun, 72, doesn?t discount that family ?has been important ? and signs abound in the office with a burly oak desk stuffed inside ? but he is also quick to add that a large part of the success Snow Summit has had is due to the people within the corporation, the management and the board.
Taken together, the two resorts employ about 1,600 people during the height of the ski and snowboarding season.
?I?ve had plenty of advice and input from these sources to make it valuable,? he said.
From the looks of the room, there have been plenty of mementos to inspire, as well, from the: Portrait of Tyndall as a child, decked in lederhosen. Ski competition photos of Dominique, 27, ?and her brother, Alexander ?Ty? Kun, 28. Awards that were presented over the years for industry excellence and community service. ?Pit chairs that date back to the go-go years of the 1970s.
Looking around the room, Dominique said the idea the resorts could be sold is bittersweet, going on to explain:
?This is our home. We grew up here?so, to think this could be sold is almost like a death in the family.
?At the same time, we 100 percent support the decision because we view the company as mirroring my father?s own life. The company is my father, and at least to my brother and I, we see that this is the natural progression. It?s a celebration more than anything, a celebration of life ? of my father?s life, and evolution of the town mirrored the ski resort, and this does to.
?As for the sale?I don?t know when it will occur, or if it could occur, but he has said there?s been expressed interest, so we?ll see what happens.?
During one part of the taping, Dominique couldn?t help but get involved in the interview herself.
It came when Kun was asked to explain the old leather briefcase next to his desk. After he lifted up the flap of the briefcase that was buffed to a fine patina finish from many years of use, ?Dominique said her dad carried brown paper bagged sandwiches in it to work every day.
?My father?s known for being extremely frugal and purpose driven,? she said, as her father quietly harrumphed, and affectionately scolded his daughter for sharing the tale. Minutes later, he turned the tables with chatter about her ski-competition feats, six junior Olympic medals and distinction as one of the youngest participants at nationals.
?She was one of the best in California and the West.?
?We?ve had many happy moments here,? Dominique said, recapping memories of summer picnics with her mom and dad, and brother, Ty. ?This is our home, our legacy. We grew up here.?
A mountain biker is caught in the frame of the a picture taken from the chairlift at Snow Summit Ski Resort in June.
(Photo: Debra Gruszecki)
Kun?s resume shows: After Tryndall?s death, Kun?s mother, Josephine, took over as general manager. Kun became her assistant. By the 70s, it began to enjoy self-generated growth. Before the 1980s, it was logging 350,000 to 500,000 skier visits a season.
Today, more than 700,000 skiers visit the resort properties.
Besides being active in the resort operations, Kun has been active in the ski industry in membership roles and board positions on the Far West Ski Instructor?s and ?National Ski Areas associations.
In the 1990?s, Kun helped draft guidelines for terrain park management for the California Ski Industry Board, a country first.
Civic minded, too, he has served on Big Bear Chamber of Commerce board and played a lead role to start the Big Bear Resort Association.
Awards presented over the years include ??Eagle of Excellence,? from Big Bear Lake Rotary Club, Entrepreneur of the Year from the California Travel Industry Association and the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Ski Areas Association.
Read more about Richard Kun and the potential sale in the online edition and in Sunday?s edition of The Press-Enterprise.
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