The Stowe Area Association presented the Stowe Business Person of the Year award at their Annual Membership Dinner, which was held on June 15th at the Commodores Inn.
The Annual Stowe Business Person of the Year 2016 honor was awarded to David Wolfgang, owner of Pinnacle Ski & Sports, SkiEssentials.com, and Inner Bootworks. David has a long and eclectic history in the Stowe business community, and has proven to be an influential player in the development of Stowe as a tourist destination.
David began his career in the ski industry over thirty years ago. He grew up in Great Neck, New York, but he could not ignore the call of the mountains. As a young ski bum in the 70’s, David worked various odd-jobs around the town of Stowe (none of them for very long) and helped with his brother’s ski tour operation. In 1984, David’s then-girlfriend and now-wife, Katrine, said, “You know, it would be nice if you got a job.”
And so he did. Launched in 1985 as a mobile ski-tuning service, Pinnacle Ski & Sports started as a retail ski shop under the name, “Bedside Tuners.” Many Stowe businesses will remember the ubiquitous blueberry muffins cheerfully perched on the tips of freshly tuned skis – the hallmark of the overnight ski tuning and delivery service. Four years later, David and Katrine were married.
Bedside Tuners soon outgrew its original business plan and expanded into a new property on the Mountain Road, which is now the flagship retail store, Pinnacle Ski & Sports. Today, the Wolfgangs maintain an 11,000ft2 warehouse for SkiEssentials.com, their online sales channel for their brick and mortar retail shop, Pinnacle Ski & Sports, as well as the internationally recognized boot shop, Inner Bootworks. In 2014, David and Katrine were honored by the New England Winter Snow Representatives Association with the Best of New England Ski Shop Award. The award was a result of their continued growth as a ski shop by using an innovative business model that includes multiple sales channels.
While growing the business in 1988, David joined the Trapp Family Lodge Sales Team, which sold 100% of its timeshare units. This was the beginning of David’s real estate career – over the years he has developed and actively manages a real estate portfolio that now includes six Stowe buildings, consisting of apartments and a number of successful businesses.
David has been an active member of the Stowe Area Association since his entry to the Stowe business community. He has served on and chaired various boards over the years, and worked as president of the association for a number of years in the 90’s. Most recently, David has functioned as the interim Stowe Area Association president since July 2015.
Together, Katrine and David have a 26-year-old daughter, Taylor, and a 21-year-old son, Josh. Taylor is in her third year of medical school at UVM, and Josh is a student at the University of Rochester. David likes to spend his free time skiing, biking, fishing, and sailing. In his acceptance speech, he gave thanks and credit to his family and to his, “better half,” Katrine.
Stowe Area Association, located in the resort community of Stowe, Vermont, is a membership-based destination marketing organization, which has worked to promote the iconic Stowe brand for 80 years.