Winter Sports CEO retires

Winter Sports Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Jones is stepping down from his post as top executive of the corporation that operates Whitefish Mountain Resort (formerly Big Mountain Resort).

Jones on Thursday announced his retirement, but Winter Sports will retain him as a consultant for special projects. Replacing Jones will be Daniel Graves, Winter Sports' vice president of finance, who joined the company last November.

Jones was hired by Winter Sports in April 2004, shortly before the resort severed its ties with international real-estate partner Hines. After that, Jones guided the resort through the drafting of a new master plan that reflected more modest resort improvements than those envisioned by Hines.

"Fred has worked incredibly hard at the role he assumed in a time when the mountain was undergoing significant change," Bill Foley, chairman of the Winter Sports board, said in a prepared statement. "Fred has been instrumental in a variety of areas that are positioning the resort for the future."

The reconstruction of Big Mountain Road, construction and opening of the new Day Lodge and replacement of Chairs 1 and 2 are among the projects Jones has been involved with.

Jones said he hired Graves "with the intent of him being my successor."

"Dan is an extremely capable individual with tremendous ski-resort experience. Over the past eight months, he has been a great addition to the Whitefish Mountain Resort team."

Graves has held key management roles at several ski resorts throughout the country, including Keystone and Breckenridge in Colorado, Killington in Vermont and Northstar-at-Tahoe in California. He also has experience in the oil transportation and mining industries.

"It didn't take me long to realize what a truly special place Whitefish and the resort on Big Mountain are," said Graves. "It's rare to have such a wonderfully authentic community at the base of a world-class mountain with the magnificence of Glacier National Park next door. … It's my intent for Whitefish Mountain Resort to continue delivering a quality product to all of our guests."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com