Currently, Jan. 5-11 is the third annual Community Appreciation Week at Diamond Peak. As a way to say thanks to the communities of Incline Village and Crystal Bay, Diamond Peak is offering free skiing to folks with a current IVGID picture pass or punch card.

Diamond Peak season pass holders with an IVGID picture pass or punch card with be provided with other exclusive offers such as free clinics and demo equipment rentals.

In addition, happy hour pricing will be available at the Loft Bar starting at 2 p.m. each day for picture pass and punch card holders.

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In the Base Lodge dining area and Wild Bill’s BBQ, pictures pass and punch card holders can receive 10 percent off all food and beverages.

“Scott worked tirelessly to protect the interests of the district and led a legal team that has been extremely effective in minimizing our legal exposure and successfully defending us in court on numerous occasions.”

On Saturday, Jan. 10, we’ll be holding a Raffle and Party in the Loft Bar from 3-6 p.m.

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This is a great opportunity to for those of you who don’t regularly ski to come and experience one of the best customer experiences available in the basin, not to mention some of the most stunning series of lake views anywhere in the world.

We had nearly 2,900 picture-pass holders ski at Diamond Peak last year — and we would love to break the 3,000 mark in 2014-15.

Click here to get more information about Community Appreciation Week .

We will be holding Community Appreciation events later this year at the Recreation Center, Tennis Center and Golf Courses as well. When we set exact dates, I will let you know.

In my last column, I noted that while Diamond Peak didn’t open until Dec. 20, we saw our largest three-day opening in the past two decades.

That success continued over the holiday break, despite Mother Nature’s refusal to bless us with bountiful amounts of natural snow.

Luckily, the cold spell that began on Dec. 24 allowed us to make enough snow to get a reasonable number of runs open and gain access to Snowflake Lodge.

We had over 30,000 ski visits for the 16-day holiday period. That is in line with what we’ve averaged over the past two decades — which is outstanding given the lack of snowfall this year.

We also continue to do a good job of attracting new and less experienced skiers to our hill.

We had several record sales days for both ski rentals and the two ski schools. Food and Beverage also saw an uptick in sales, thanks in no small part to the addition of Wild Bill’s BBQ on the deck.

The brainchild of Bill Vandenburg, our Food & Beverage Manager, his selection of smoked meats and chicken generated more than $15,000 in sales over the holiday season.

There is also little doubt that the aroma from the smoker drew more skiers to the Base Lodge for lunch.

While we are thrilled with the success of the holiday season, a little snow would certainly come in handy for the upcoming three-day holiday weekends.

And Diamond Peak will be providing plenty of other activities during non-holiday weekends as well. Just click here to view the entire schedule of events for this season.

In other news, I just wanted to pass on a friendly reminder that the Diamond Peak Steering Committee will be holding its first meeting next Monday, Jan. 12, from 3-5 p.m. in our boardroom at 893 Southwood Blvd.

The committee will be meeting every other Monday for the next four months to review the Diamond Peak Master Plan.

I also anticipate several community input meetings regarding the Master Plan as well. Dates and times for those meetings will provided as they become available.

Finally, on behalf of all of us here at IVGID, I’d like to pass on our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of T. Scott Brooke.

Scott, IVGID’s legal counsel since 2000, passed away unexpectedly on Christmas Eve.

Scott worked tirelessly to protect the interests of the district and led a legal team that has been extremely effective in minimizing our legal exposure and successfully defending us in court on numerous occasions.

His knowledge of the district is irreplaceable and he will be sorely missed.

The board will be holding a moment of silence in his honor at the beginning of next week’s Board Meeting.

“GM’s Corner” is a twice-monthly column from Incline Village General Improvement Distinct General Manager Steve Pinkerton, who will discuss issues and offer updates regarding various district matters.