Local group has a blast at Ski Bowl fundraiser
Mon, Jan 11, 2010 
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BY MARK BROOKY
mbrooky@grandhaventribune.com
The ski-and-burgers on the grill event has become a winter tradition at the Grand Haven Ski Bowl, but Saturday's affair was the first run by the citizens nonprofit association that now manages the local ski slope.
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"We planned for 450 meals today, and we'll probably have somewhere between 350 and 450 kids on the hill," Mike Pepper, president of the Mulligan's Hollow Ski Bowl Association, said at Saturday's event.
The sky was blue and the sun was bright, with temperatures in the 20s.
"We had a great day," Pepper said Saturday afternoon. "Last year, it was freezing — 16 degrees, cloudy and windy — and having the sun today has been a great blessing."
The local nonprofit association took over the 46-year-old ski operation last year.
To see the video of the event, click here: http://www.grandhaventribune.com/liveique/b_vid_front.bsp
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"It was really a cooperation between the city of Grand Haven and some citizens that want to see the Ski Bowl work efficiently for the future," Pepper explained. "Having a Ski Bowl operation in a 'big-city' government wasn't very efficient for the city. So we were able to work out a cooperative deal where the city said, 'You guys can run the Ski Bowl, and whatever profits we end up with at the end of the year go into the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, into an endowment fund for the Ski Bowl's future.'"
Pepper said the Ski Bowl's budget for operations is about $150,000 a year; and they raise between $25,000 and $35,000 a year in donations that go into the endowment and emergency needs funds, which are held at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.
Ideally, the Ski Bowl is open 82-84 days each season, Pepper said.
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The Burgers on the Bowl is the biggest of the operation's several annual fundraisers, Pepper said. Supporters of the facility have held the daytime event to raise funds for its operation for several years.
The association also held a Party at the Lodge on Saturday night. LeeAnn Glasser, who chairs the association's fundraising activities, said between 80 and 100 adults turned out for the evening event — which included live music, a silent auction and a cash bar at the Mulligan's Hollow Lodge, located at the foot of the Ski Bowl. The lodge was built in 2007. She said about 40 adults enjoyed skiing and snowboarding under the lights.
Glasser said Saturday's events raised a combined $10,000 for the Ski Bowl operations.
The city opened the Ski Bowl in December 1963, but the facility closed in the late 1970s because the city had higher priorities at the time than to repair the aging ski hill equipment. Several residents and supporters stepped in and raised money to reopen the Ski Bowl in 1981.
The adjacent Tri-Cities Family YMCA took over the operation in the early 1990s, which may have kept it from being closed down again. The YMCA ran it until 2005 when its own budget constraints became an issue, and the city took it over again. That's when the group — many of whom were already involved in the support of the ski facility over the years — stepped up and asked to take over the operations.
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Snow-making equipment has meant the facility can be opened by mid-December, Pepper said. This season, it opened about a week early.
On the Net: www.mulliganshollow.com
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