Olympic Valley Community Members,

As you may have recently heard, we are taking a very serious look at whether we should continue to use the word “Squaw” as part of our name. As a company we have been discussing the broader impact of the name, and concerns around both keeping it and changing it, for some time now. We have had press inquiries, we’ve monitored numerous social media discussions, and we have received dozens of emails providing comments. As part of this process we would also like to fully inform you, the local community, of the factors under consideration, as well as solicit and understand your opinion. If it were not for Covid, I would hold a community meeting and do this in person. Unfortunately, we are limited to video gatherings, and so I will be conducting a virtual townhall event this Thursday, July 23, at 3:00 pm. You can access the meeting through the link below. In order to participate, you simply need to click on the Meeting link. Choose to “Watch on the web instead” if you don’t have Microsoft Teams installed on your device. There is no call in number for this meeting. You must use a web enabled device.

A web form link is also provided below. Please use it to provide questions or comments in advance of the meeting. I will do my best to answer each question, although it is likely that questions will be “grouped” based on similarity.

There will also be an opportunity to “chat in” questions and comments during the meeting. Due to the size of the meeting, it will not be possible to have a verbal back and forth, but the web form and chat line should provide ample opportunity to comment and raise questions that have been missed.

The topics I intend to cover include:

• The word “Squaw,” including its origination, meaning, and usage
• How the issue came to the forefront now
• The company’s viewpoint
• The process.

Meeting link: https://tinyurl.com/SquawMeeting

Webform link (for questions and comments):  https://squawalpine.com/squaw-name-change-virtual-town-hall

This event is intended to be for the Olympic Valley community, and so I ask you not to share with people who are not in fact members of our community. I would like to thank the Friends of Olympic Valley and the SV Homeowner’s Association Forum for sending this email to their group lists.

I intend for the discussion to be open and candid. Nevertheless, the chat line will be moderated to ensure things stay reasonably family friendly. Questions and chats, particularly those that are submitted anonymously, will be subject to editing or deletion where they do not meet standards of civil discourse.

I look forward to the chance to address this topic with you.

Sincerely,

Ron Cohen

President and Chief Operating Officer

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows