Class of 2025
Marketing Visionary • Architect of Snowshoe’s Rise • Pioneer of Modern Ski Promotion
Manyon Millican
When Snowshoe Mountain was still only an idea, Manyon M. Millican helped turn it into one of the most successful ski destinations in the eastern United States.
​
Recruited in 1973 by industry pioneer Dr. Thomas Brigham, Manyon brought high-level marketing and communications expertise to a bold new venture in Pocahontas County. Over the next decade, serving as Vice President of Marketing and member of the Board of Directors, he transformed Snowshoe from concept to national contender.
​
Building a Destination
Under Manyon’s leadership, Snowshoe developed one of the first fully integrated in-house marketing operations in the ski industry.
His team managed market research, direct mail, broadcast advertising, public relations, real estate marketing, group sales, reservations, and on-site promotion — a model far ahead of its time.
The results were historic:
-
Skier visits grew from 36,000 (1974–75) to 252,000 (1982–83)
-
Snowshoe ranked among the Top 5 ski areas in the East (1983)
-
First commercial television advertising campaign by an eastern ski area
-
Season-extension campaigns that added 15–30 operating days and up to $1.5 million in revenue
-
“Making Tracks” magazine mailed annually to 500,000+ households
-
One of the earliest large-scale skier customer databases (13,000+ annual surveys)
Manyon did not simply promote skiing in West Virginia — he reshaped how ski areas marketed themselves nationwide.
Leading Through Crisis
After departing Snowshoe in 1983, Manyon was called back during the resort’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1985. With limited time and a reduced budget, he rebuilt the marketing program and delivered 179,000 skier visits during a warm, rain-plagued winter, helping stabilize operations during one of the most vulnerable periods in the resort’s history.
Few marketing leaders in the ski industry have successfully guided both the launch and the turnaround of the same major resort.
Impact Beyond Snowshoe
Manyon’s influence extended across West Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic:
-
Canaan Valley Resort – Television campaign that dramatically increased late-season skier visits
-
Whistlepunk Village & Inn at Snowshoe – Real estate and resort marketing
-
Tory Mountain – Promotional development
-
City of Richwood – Ski feasibility studies
-
Mountain State Forest Festival (Elkins) – Regional tourism promotion
His consulting work also supported Hidden Valley, Whitetail, Ski Liberty, and other eastern resorts, where his direct-marketing programs drove significant skier visits and real estate sales.
A Lasting Legacy
Manyon Millican helped establish West Virginia as a serious player in Mid-Atlantic winter sports. His innovations in data-driven marketing, broadcast advertising, season-extension strategy, and customer research created a blueprint that many ski areas still follow today.
Though his primary tenure in West Virginia spanned roughly a decade, the momentum he built continues to benefit the state’s ski industry decades later.
Inducted into the Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia Hall of Fame in recognition of his transformative leadership and lasting contribution to the growth of skiing in the Mountain State.