Private | |
Founded | 1947 |
Headquarters | Boyne Falls, Michigan |
Key people
|
John Kircher, President, Western Operations Stephen Kircher, President, Eastern Operations |
Number of employees
|
7,000 |
Website | www |
John Kircher, President, Western Operations
Boyne Resorts is an owner and operator of ski and golf resorts in the United States. The company employs over 7,000 full-time and seasonal staff. It operates 13 resort properties: 10 ski resorts and 11 golf courses. The company, based in Boyne Falls, Michigan, owns and/or operates properties in the U.S. states of Michigan, Montana, Washington, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah, and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Boyne Resorts was founded by Everett Kircher, Jim Christianson and John Norton in 1947. They purchased a steep hill in Northern Michigan for $1 from former State Senator Pierson. Then the co-founders bought a single chairlift from Sun Valley and installed it at their Northern Michigan resort as its first lift. This chairlift was the first ever built. Still in service today, it has been upgraded several times. In 1954, Boyne built and opened the Gatlinburg Skylift in Tennessee as a summer tourist attraction. In 1963, Boyne Highlands in Northern Michigan was added and by 1967, Boyne Mountain expanded to include additional lifts and a golf course. Robert Trent Jones designed the first resort course in the region at Boyne Highlands in 1966.
Chet Huntley's Big Sky Resort was purchased in 1976, only a few years after its opening in December 1973. In 1986, Boyne purchased Brighton outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 1990s, Boyne USA purchased golf courses in Michigan and Florida. 1997 brought along the company's fifth ski resort, Crystal Mountain, Washington.