Some may recognize him from his involvement in the Snowsport community, the Boardroom, the chairlift, and if you didn’t know his face before, you will now. Holiday Valley’s Jane Eshbaugh will be retiring after 40+ years and the resort is excited to welcome Dash to take on the position to continue to bring new ideas to the plate.
(V): For those who might not know you…who are you!?
(DH): I’m originally from Little Valley, NY. My father, Nelson Hegeman, was at one point an avid skier and an instructor at Kissing Bridge. So, I was introduced to skis at a pretty young age (approximately 2.5 years old). Given my proximity to Holiday Valley, I ended up spending a good amount of my childhood on the slopes during the winter. After high school, I spent two years at St. Bonaventure University, first studying computer science and then upon learning that there was way too much complex math involved, switching over to Journalism/Communications. Then I transferred to St. John Fischer in Rochester and finished my degree in Journalism/Communications with a concentration in marketing. Eventually, I made my way to New York City where I got a Master’s in Sports Business with a concentration in marketing from NYU.
(V): How long have you been involved in the Snowsport community?
(DH): I began instructing skiing at Holiday Valley when I was 15 years old, which means that I’ve been involved in some capacity for longer than I care to admit. I was skiing at the time but was definitely building an infatuation with snowboarding and so when I was 19, I switched over to instructing snowboarding and, along with a small contingency of friends, became a thorn in Ron Kubicki’s (the snowsports director during my initial time here) side for many years to come. But I was lucky to have had him for a bossbecause he was patient and encouraged me to get my AASI certification and of pursuing additional certification levels. Those experiences really took my love of snowboarding to an entirely new level and made me want to figure out a way to make a career out of my love for the outdoors and snowsports in general. In due time, I was eventually a night-lesson supervisor and as a result got to hire some fantastic people; many of whom became life-long friends. So all-in-all, it’s been about 27 years now.
(V): What is your new title at Holiday Valley?
(DH): Director of marketing
(V): What led you to this position?
(DH): When I moved back to the area, post NYU, the director of marketing position at HoliMont opened up and I was offered that job, which I had for 5 years before I was given a job at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico, where I was initially the marketing manager and then later promoted to director of marketing. When I moved back, my desired snowsports career opportunities were limited but I was lucky enough to work for The Boardroom Snowboard Shop over the past two winters, which allowed me to stay in the industry I love, snowboard a bit and help the Timkey family, who have been so supportive over the years, through two of their busiest winters ever. I can’t thank them enough! Living out west taught me a lot in terms of the snowsports industry and really opened my eyes to just how important it is from a marketing standpoint to work at a place that has a great story to tell. Taos has that for a variety of reasons and I’m very excited for this new role because Holiday Valley has that as well and I’m looking forward to communicating that story to our guests.
(V): What do you look forward to most becoming a full time Holiday Valley team member?
(DH): So many things. This is an opportunity that I wanted for a long time and now I’m able to fulfill a goal that I had set out to accomplish a long time ago. In terms of what I’m looking forward to the most, it goes back to telling the story of Ellicottville and Holiday Valley, its guests and its staff in a way that really resonates with people and makes them want to visit this area for years to come. There are so many fantastic ways to enjoy the great outdoors in WNY, year-round, that it makes for so many storylines for people to gravitate to. I’m also really excited about working with an incredible team of people who share the same kind of passion for this industry as I do. I’m excited to be back in WNY and thrilled to be working for a company that I have believed in and admired for such a long period of my life. Being out on the slopes of Holiday Valley really shaped my life in many ways and my goal is to help showcase just how special of a place this is so that other people can have that same kind of positive impact in their lives because of the outdoor industry.
We cannot wait to see all the successes of Dash in the future, congratulations Man!