By Kate Bartlett
In the winter of 1993, Marc and Alice Joseffer were skiing down the Sunset ski slope at HoliMont on a beautiful sunny weekday. It was the annual ski day for Alice’s law firm, Hodgson Russ. It was a fateful day because Alice and Marc decided to not only join HoliMont as members, but also buy a house at HoliMont and become a part of the Ellicottville community on that day. “We loved HoliMont immediately. It has such a family friendly atmosphere, and we’ve made so many friends who make us feel right at home”.
Marc’s older sister dragged him out to Kissing Bridge back in the 1950’s to experience the joy of downhill skiing. The staff at KB in Colden NY worked their magic and produced a lifetime skier. He was the president of the Monday Night Ski Club while at Williamsville HS. When he went off to study at the University of Denver, he discovered the Rocky Mountains. His 1st ski trip with friends was to VAIL, Colorado. After climbing up to Mid-Vail by gondola (like Disneyland), and the ride to the top by chair lift, he discovered the scary reality of 5 feet of pure powder! Four more years of fabulous Colorado and Utah skiing rounded out his degree program at UD in Business Administration.
Marc and Alice, a fellow UD Concert Band member and native of Colorado, got “hitched” the day after he graduated in 1970 and headed west to San Francisco where he had a job operating branch offices for Bank of America. Several years later they moved back to Marc’s hometown of Williamsville NY with three kids in tow. He’s owned and operated several businesses in NY.
Magic carpet at HoliMont.
member and MY1stSKI
coordinator.
Chalet.
Over the years Marc and Alice have served on the HoliMont Board of Directors. Marc was also President during 2006-2008 and has served on several HoliMont committees.
At the request of his fellow SCORE Mentor (Service Corps of Retired Executives), Gary Helfenstein, Marc became involved with Gary’s MY1stSKI initiative. He enlisted the aid of HoliMont General Manager, Ed Youmans, to make the MY1stSKI program work at HoliMont two years ago. The MY1stSKI program is a community outreach program to help underprivileged children in underserved communities experience the sport of skiing.
Marc Joseffer has been implementing the My1stSKI program at HoliMont since its inception. This program introduces skiing to Buffalo Inner City kids and offers them an exceptional life changing experience outside of the City of Buffalo. Marc accepted the responsibility, with the support of key members at HoliMont, to help make the program an incredible success. Buffalo School #6 (Elementary School of Technology) has selected the students to participate in the program for the past two years.
In the winter of 2023, the program afforded ten (10) Buffalo Inner City school boys and girls the opportunity to ski for the 1st time at HoliMont. This year (2024) the program provided sixteen (16) young women in grades 5-7 this experience. As in the first year of the program, Marc asked HoliMont members to check their ski closets and donate ski jackets, pants, gloves, sweaters and other ski clothing their kids have outgrown. For two years the members at HoliMont have been fantastic. Some girls were decked out in exceptional ski parkas and loving every minute of it. It was a sight to be seen. We were also blessed with 4 perfect incredible Tuesdays for the girls who participated. Many HoliMont members approached Marc on each of these Tuesdays to express their support for the program and remark at how well behaved the kids were and how great it was to see their joy at learning to ski.
At School 6, Carolyn Bell, Teacher and Best Self Support Team Member, worked with Marc to coordinate all the efforts needed from the school. She made sure the kids were outfitted, had lunches provided by the school, and got them all on the bus to HoliMont each day. No small accomplishment!
Immediately after the girls arrived each Tuesday morning, the staff at Gear Up Ski Shop professionally outfitted each girl with skis, boots and a helmet. Once on the slopes, HoliMont ski instructors used their training and expertise to help these girls become comfortable on the slopes. “It was somewhat magical, granting them this opportunity. But it took great bravery on their part as well. These girls overcame their fears in many regards and soon became excited about learning how to ski.”
The program was a team effort to coordinate transportation, attire, equipment, and instruction. “The program wouldn’t have been possible without a grant from the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County Women in Sports Foundation and the collaboration between the Buffalo schools and HoliMont,” remarks Marc.
Becoming involved with My1stSKI has been an incredibly rewarding experience for Marc. “The program was life changing for our participants. Most of the students had never been outside of the City of Buffalo and had never experienced anything like skiing on the slopes of HoliMont.
Marc hopes it will be possible to provide this program to underprivileged Inner-City children in the future. For more information on the program visit https://ski-in3.com/, and follow HoliMont on Social Media.