alumni news
Alumnus makes Bogus Basin an oasis BY DUSTIN WUNDERLICH
T
hough Alan Moore ’74 grew up in the Treasure Valley, he never put on skis until he came to The College of Idaho. In fact, his first trip to Bogus Basin Mountain Recreational Area came during a Collegesponsored ski night, when two buses packed with students rumbled up the foothills. “It was a beautiful night and the lights were on,” Moore said. “It was a great time, and I remember we did a candlelight procession down the Bowl.” While Moore continued skiing, he never imagined that first cold night on Bogus Basin’s slopes that he would eventually manage one of the Treasure Valley’s most beloved institutions. After graduating, Moore entered a business manager program at what is now URS in Boise and steadily moved up the ranks. One of his co-
The Moore family has a strong legacy at the College. Alan Moore had two sisters and an uncle attend the C of I, and his father served as campus chaplain for two years.
Idaho continue to guide him, especially the advice of business professor Gen. Edward Sawyer. “He was just a wonderful man, but he and I had a divergence of opinion about what I wanted to learn,” Moore recalls. “I was more interested in the quantitative side, but in Alan Moore, shown here at Bogus Basin, served as student body president at the C of I. almost every class, Sawyer workers was Mike Shirley, who went on to manage said ‘business is people’.” Bogus Basin for two decades. In 2001, Shirley At the time, Moore said that phrase asked Moore if he was interested in the controller exasperated him. position at Bogus Basin. “It took me years before I realized kindly old Moore quickly accepted the offer. General Sawyer had it right and I had it wrong,” “I didn’t change jobs because of boredom; I he said. “Business is about people. It’s about wanted a different experience and I really liked how you trust them, how you evaluate them, what Mike Shirley was doing by making Bogus how you communicate with them.” Basin more affordable to the Treasure Valley,” Moore’s relationship with the College has Moore said. continued past graduation. He taught a After a decade, Moore was named general corporate finance course during the 1980s manager of Bogus Basin in March 2012. and he’s recently worked with Scott Johnson, The position requires everything from keeping the director of business and accounting, as part ski lifts running to fundraising to managing staff. of an ongoing initiative to strengthen those Even during the summer, Moore is busy working on programs. marketing plans, doing lift maintenance and lodge And, of course, he has a close relationship repairs, and even cutting brush. with the C of I ski team. While summer goes by quickly, things are busiest “I’ve known Ron Bonneau for about 10 years from the week before opening day through the and he’s a tremendous coach and motivator,” holidays, when Moore is at work every day. Moore said. “It’s great to see the College’s ski “Bogus Basin is like a little city with everything that’s team be so successful and for Bogus Basin to be up there, and everything can break,” Moore said. their home mountain.” Despite the long hours, Moore said he finds Whether it’s helping the Coyote ski team or great reward in working to make Bogus Basin the developing new programs for Treasure Valley community’s most treasured asset. children, Moore’s vision for Bogus Basin is clear. “Our commitment to affordable skiing allows “We are doing everything we can with that almost every person in the Treasure Valley the one square mile of paradise we have up there,” opportunity to come up and ski here,” Moore Moore said. “It’s our responsibility not to said. “In addition to the skiing, our board wants squander that resource.” to do great things for kids. We have kids programs year-round, such as summer programs for kids DUSTIN WUNDERLICH is the assistant with diabetes and obesity, and we’re making a editor of Quest. difference in their lives.” Moore said his experiences at The College of quest • page 20