Former Whitefish ski resort CEO Bill Martin dies

Darrel “Bill” Martin, a longtime Kalispell businessman and leader in expanding Whitefish Mountain Resort, died Wednesday morning at his home in Kalispell. He was 93.

Martin was well-known for his efforts in promoting skiing in the Flathead Valley, and was inducted into the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation’s hall of fame just last year.

He was elected to the board of directors of Winter Sports Inc., the parent company of the Whitefish ski resort, in 1957. It was a post he held for 48 years. During that time he became president and chief executive officer of Winter Sports in 1982.

When Martin retired from the Winter Sports board in 2005, then-CEO Fred Jones issued a statement, saying Martin’s “significant contributions in time and energy, along with his great foresight, have helped to make Big Mountain the resort it is today.”

During Martin’s tenure a master plan for the expansion of the ski area was completed. The first phase was accomplished under his direction with the addition of Chair 7 and the Summit House.

“He was a natural born leader; he was the real deal,” said Whitefish real estate developer Tim Grattan, one of Martin’s longtime friends who served on the Winter Sports board in the 1980s and ’90s.

“He was a real advocate of skiing and of junior skiing,” Grattan recalled. “He ran the racing program for years.”

Martin was a founding member and former president of the Kalispell Ski Club, where he helped develop the learn-to-ski program and the annual ski swap, making skiing more affordable and accessible to families, according to the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation.

Dennis Green, a retired banker who served on the Winter Sports board with Martin for many years, remembered Martin’s role in boosting tourism in the Flathead.

“He did a lot of things in the valley. He was the convention and visitor guru,” Green said. “He was a great contributor to the valley without question.”

Grattan also recalled Martin’s role in developing the Flathead Convention and Visitor Bureau, which Martin directed during his early retirement years.

“He and I and three or four other people decided Flathead Valley had a problem,” Grattan said. “Kalispell was competing with Whitefish. Whitefish was competing with Bigfork, all for the same business. We thought it would be best if everyone was on the same team, pulling on the end of the same rope.”

Martin was instrumental in bringing some of the first travel writers to the Flathead, Grattan pointed out.

“No one tried to pressure them; we just wanted them to experience it,” he recalled about Martin’s efforts. “What we got was these glowing reports about this wonderful place in Montana.”

Martin accompanied the governor on a trade mission to Taiwan and Japan in 1985 as a member of the Montana Ambassadors and Montana International Trade Commission.

“Bill was the mover and shaker [for local] tourism for a period of time,” Grattan said. “There aren’t many people who leave a footprint as they walk through life, but Bill Martin leaves a really big one.”

Born in Driggs, Idaho, Martin was raised in Libby and was an avid outdoorsman. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and completed his degree in physical education at the University of Montana after the war before returning to the Flathead Valley with his wife, Patricia, to raise their family.

Martin joined the staff of Manion Motors in Kalispell in 1949 and worked there for 33 years, eventually becoming the president and owner.

He was heavily involved in civic activities, Green recalled, noting Martin’s fundraising efforts that helped complete the Bigfork Playhouse. Martin served on the Glacier Bank board of directors for 20 years and also served on the advisory board of the School of Business at the University of Montana.

A full obituary will be forthcoming in the Daily Inter Lake.

Rosary will be said at 7 p.m. Monday, June 19, at Johnson-Gloschat. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, with burial to follow at C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell. A reception will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell.

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