In the DJ business, you are hired for a multitude of reasons; anyone can stand up there and press play on the stereo, it takes a personality to bring people out on the dance floor. DJ Dave's moniker might be ubiquitous but his personality is one-of-a-kind, and that's as much a part of the entertainment as the music. His sarcastic sense of humor and quick wit drag peoples inhibitions away and allow them to enjoy themselves.

It also helps that he plays the music that people want to hear. "A lot of DJ's don't like to take requests, they only play what they themselves want to hear, I don't mind at all, in fact I love taking requests, you're sure to be giving the audience what they really want," he explains.



It hasn't been all happy tunes and good times for DJ Dave though; a tragic sledding accident nearly left him paralyzed in April of 1997. "It was late night, we were hiking up the mountain and sledding down on lunch trays, we went up a couple times and everything was fine. I got to the bottom once, and before I got up, two people came down behind me on a single tray, they collided into my head at full speed while I was stopped still," he said.

Rushed to Rutland Hospital it wasn't until the next day (after they sent him home) that the doctors realized hee had shattered his C2 vertebrae-the same one that left Christopher Reeves paralyzed. They sent an ambulance to his house to bring him back to the hospital. It was a long road to recovery. Dave had to wear a "halo," an archaic looking device that surrounds your entire head, fastening it into a fixed position allowing the bones to set on their own.

While most people would just sit at home and sulk, for Dave it was just another goofy costume. Less than a month later, DJ Dave was back at work, playing songs and making sure people were having a wonderful time.

It's that desire to bring enjoyment to anyone in ear- (or eye-) shot that truly seems to motivate DJ Dave. He has, with his ski team, dressed up in costume for every single ski bum race for 14 years now. Some of the outfits are outrageous, and you can imagine his closet probably looks like it belongs in Hollywood!

DJ Dave's quirky costumes and dry sarcasm now exemplify part of the Killington culture, where people from all over the world come to enjoy life and get away from normalcy. DJ Dave embodies what a lot of the spirit of 'living the dream' is about, never taking yourself too seriously, working hard, and making sure that not just you; but those around you, are having fun.

As DJ Dave himself puts it, "I'm just living the dream one crazy outfit at a time."

"It was a great week; he had such an impact on my ability to ski. After we became a couple, he became responsible for my own passion for skiing," she noted.

Steve joined Nancy in Boston that summer, but she could see that his passion for skiing was so strong that a full-time job in another field wouldn't be right for him. So she moved to Vermont and they were married November 1995.

Sales and Marketing Executive Coordinator

While enjoying the ski life, O'Connor didn't actually get out on the slopes as much once she moved to Vermont. That was partly because they lived in Quechee, and she had long commutes to jobs in St. Johnsbury, then Randolph, Lebanon and Bethel before landing an administrative position in the sales department at Killington (2001).

In that position, her duties included handling payroll and other financial matters for a 30-member sales team. That led to a similar position in the marketing department. Then, when Powdr took over, they combined the two positions so she became the administrative manager for both the sales and marketing departments, later adding administrative duties for President Chris Nyberg as well.

Although she is not a programmer, O'Connor understands how the various programs work and takes pride in being able to use that knowledge to figure out how to obtain more efficiency. She marvels at the things they used to do manually, noting for example how technology has assisted with ticketing. Whereas special offers once were entered manually, now bar codes enable ticket sellers to scan a code which speeds up the ticketing process, while also enabling her to access ever more data for her increasingly complex spreadsheets.

Calling herself a "back of the house person," O'Connor enjoys her work "supporting those who work with budgets so they can have more time to book sales or do marketing tasks... It's part of time efficiency - finding the most efficient way to get things done. Technology has played a huge role in getting more information more quickly and fosters that efficiency," she said.

From Excel to Teli

You might not think Excel, the spreadsheet program, and telemark skiing have much in common, O'Connor spends much of her time with both and similarly appreciates them for their efficacy and freedom.

A graceful and accomplished Teli-skier, Nancy admits to loving "the freedom of the heel being free. I locked my heels once last winter to do some teaching," she said, noting that she enjoys the versatility of Teli and that you "can make an Alpine turn by holding your heel down and don't have to be locked in to do so."

O'Connon  became a Telemark skier during the winter of 2002 "when a friend Jennifer Last Name and I decided to learn together because all our friends were Telemarkers." (They included husband Steve who is PSIA certified in both Alpine and Telemark.)

"I spent six weeks learning on Ramshead - in leather boots and on skinny skis. The switch to plastic boots and the new shaped Telemark skis made all the difference" she said, noting that many other advancements came quickly thereafter.

Q&A
What do you enjoy most about your job?
"The people I work with. I love them all - they're unique, fun, and share a passion for what they do and the industry."

What's the biggest challenge for you personally?
"It relates to my personality. I tested as a Life Administrator on the Briggs Myers [Aptitude] Test twice. It's in me to want to fix things that are broken, to keep things in order and organized."

What's the biggest challenge you see for the ski industry from your vantage point?
"The diminishing numbers of skiers with people aging out and not enough replacing them in the last ten years."

How often do you get out on the slopes?
"Twice a week on my days off: Sundays with friends from Boston and Wednesdays with local friends.  I also manage to get out for short periods two days a week. There's always people here to go skiing with for an hour or so."

Where do you vacation?
"Most winters we take a trip out West. Jackson Hole is our favorite.
"We keep a 21-foot sailboat on Lake Winnepesaukee so we visit friends there about two weekends a month in summer."

How do you keep fit?
"Every year gets harder, but I followed Tony Horton's P90X home fitness and nutrition program two years ago and lost weight and got into the best condition I've been in. Now I do the Pink Fusion method, a program for women.
"Fitness helps my skiing and skiing helps me keep fit. The active outdoors lifestyle helps me stay young and happy."

Any insights for someone thinking about a career or move to Vermont?
"It has to be about the lifestyle - loving the outdoors - not the money or the job.
"When I moved here I was excited about skiing more, but I actually skied less 'till I came to work at the resort.
"We built a home on Music Mountain in Stockbridge in 1999. We love the views and being able to take hikes out our door. But it's a 45-minute drive to go food shopping in Rutland.
"Still, I could never go back to city life. I love the peace and quiet and beauty of the country and outdoor life too much."

KILLINGTON-Feb. 17, Killington Mountain School (KMS) student-athletes turned in some of the best results of the regular season this past week, from a Nor Am podium in Apex to the second girls' podium sweep of the year for the J3 alpine team to three alpine State titles.

KMS and KSC/KMS J3 racers dominated the Mid-Vermont Council races this past Sunday and Monday at Killington as Bridgewater's Piper Jenne won both races. Sunday's giant slalom, the first of two MVC races on Needles Eye, Jenne lead Sarah Mason (3), Katherine Nelligan (5), Taylor Dobyns (6), Holly Olson (8) and Rutland's Marina Rotella (10)-who had the fastest second run in the girls' field. Bridgewater's Ava Mattsson had the fastest first run for the girls' field.

On the boys' side, Cam Heald skied his way onto the podium, while Ian Clarke put down the second-fastest second run to take fourth.

The racers returned to Needles Eye on Monday for Super-G competition. Jenne again took the win and was joined on the podium by Rotella (2) and Mattsson (3) for a clean sweep. Schwartz led the boys in second place ahead of Clarke (5) and Heald (6).

"Our athletes did a great job of adjusting their tactics from the training run to the race run, taking a more aggressive line on the pitch and bringing more shape on the last delay coming onto the flats to maintain their momentum. Those changes paid off with great results," said Head J3 Coach Lon Brettell.

J1-2 alpine student-athletes claimed three Vermont State Championship titles at Okemo this week as well. Dan Martin took the gold in slalom and giant slalom and Woodstock's Ben Scheu took the Super-G win. KMS and KSC/KMS racers took 18 top-10 finishes.

Dylan Malone joined Martin on Saturday's slalom podium, taking third, while Scheu (5), Mike Ferri (6) and Julian Scherding (9) filled out the men's top 10.

Martin again took the men's win in the giant slalom.

On Monday, Okemo hosted two Super-G races; the first was scored as the state championship and the second as a Vermont Cup. Ben Scheu won both, taking the first by over a second.

To learn more about alpine, snowboard, freestyle, and freeride training and opportunities, visit www.killingtonmountainschool.org or call 802.422.KMS1.