Lenore has been a fixture in Northwest skiing since the first lifts began grinding up the Snoqualmie slopes. She tells stories of arriving at the mountain early and volunteering to work with the volunteers, side stepping fresh snow on the runs in exchange for a lift ticket. That effort was called “grooming the slope” in the early days.
I first met Lenore back in the 1980’s. My wife, a Thursday ski school bus rider, suggested we
From that “insider” perspective I began to appreciate how Lenore masterfully managed the operation. Lenore applied a “mallard” style of management. When you see a duck on a calm pond they seem to be gliding along with little effort. But, if you could see underwater, you would see lots of action as its busy feet paddle furiously along.
In Lenore’s case, the customer never saw beneath the water. The lesson operation ran with apparent ease as she moved from place to place, addressing questions and issues. During the day
While the customer might be soothed by this calm demeanor, at the same time she would be sorting through the ever present complications of herding classes from place to place while keeping the parents of the smaller kids happy and relaxed. Missing instructors, missing students, broken down buses, lost lift tickets and dozens of other mishaps, some serious and some not, marked each day of lessons. But through it all the customer met a calm Lenore, was given a class A experience and was treated like they were the most important customer of all.
During that era every management consultant was pitching “total quality management,” a customer focused management philosophy made famous by such firms as Toyota, Sony and Honda. Listen to your customer; listen to your staff; constantly look for ways to improve your product was the mantra.

Then, in 1988, we signed up for our first trip to Europe with Ski Masters and were able to experience the best of Lenore, 24/7. Herding 48 adults to Europe is different from teaching kids but no less challenging. Is everyone at the airport? What did you forget? What, you say, your passport is expired? And so on.
Once again, her mallard management style—calm exterior, busy interior—was at play. Busses would arrive like clockwork, rooms would be assigned, lost luggage recovered all in a way that would put the guests at ease.

As the week progressed Lenore found time to ski with everyone on the trip. Every guest was important and she made them feel that way. While she may have preferred to point her skies downhill and fly, she never forgot that she was in charge and everyone on the trip was one of her customers and guests. And yet, it never seemed contrived. She always expressed a genuine interest in each guest

Now the customer service mantel has been passed to the able hands of daughter Claudeen. Lenore is still the most beautiful AARP member on skis and occasionally joins Claudeen on the trips to Europe; now as a guest, not a leader. The current trips often return to places Lenore introduced to many of us years ago. Her legacy lives on in the memory of the hundreds who traveled with her and Ron in the past and were the beneficiaries of her “high touch” approach to guest management. She has clearly left her mark on Pacific Northwest skiing and the thousands that passed through her lesson programs at our Cascade ski areas.
Kathy and I both feel blessed to have known her these many years as an instructor, boss, tour director and, most importantly, friend.
