For the week of October 23 - 29, 2002

In praise of a community dynamo

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Imagine the enormous void had there not been a Sun Valley Company.

The loss would not only have entirely changed the destiny and character of the Wood River Valley, but would have stripped Idaho of a major icon that brings it international celebrity.

The company, founded in the mid-1930s on a risky gamble by the Union Pacific railroad’s financier-diplomat W. Averell Harriman and continuing under the stewardship of Earl Holding, has created a cultural history through its world-renowned ski mountain and provided a solid economic base that directly and indirectly is responsible for thousands of Wood River Valley jobs.

The just-completed jazz jamboree that attracted 7,000 devotees is one of several annual events originated by the Sun Valley resort that have become fixtures in the area’s lifestyle.

Prominent visitors who fell under the Sun Valley/Ketchum spell while guests at the Sun Valley resort have become homeowners and residents, and some groups—such as the perennial Allen & Company gathering of international media tycoons—have add luster to the community. Not incidentally, many have helped champion the area’s substantial cultural and arts activities and provided impetus for such new community assets as the St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center.

Holding is not resting on the company’s considerable laurels. His innovative 20/20 ski pass has increased ski activity on the mountain, and the new halfpipe to be constructed on Baldy will unquestionably draw more of the elusive, younger ski set seeking the new and daring.

The two magnificent lodges built at River Run and Warm Springs bases of Bald Mountain also are preludes to the future. He’s now planning development of future facilities in the River Run area as well as new lodging units near the main Sun Valley resort complex.

Despite the flurry of growth, Holding and his associates have insisted on minimal disturbance of the valley’s spectacular environment.

Now and then, the community needs to take time to praise a company that has meant so much, but too often gets taken for granted.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.