Lakewood, CO – The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) on Monday announced that Dick Kun, CEO of Snow Summit Ski Corporation, has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 NSAA Lifetime Achievement Award. Snow Summit Ski Corp. owns and operates Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski areas in Big Bear Lake, Calif.nSnow Summit was started in 1952 by Kun’s step-father, Tommi Tyndall, but without snowmaking in sunny, semi-arid Southern California, the ski area struggled to stay afloat in the early days. With a large snowmaking system installed in 1964, Snow Summit was generating about 500,000 skier and snowboarder visits annually by the end of the 1970s.

The company purchased and made improvements to Sierra Summit in the western Sierra Mountains in 1982, and operated the area until 2010 when it was sold.

With the advent of snowboarding in the late 1980s, Snow Summit led the U.S. in developing terrain parks. Perhaps Kun’s largest industry contribution was developing the first terrain park manual for the California Ski Industries Association (CSIA) in 1998 which led, with his input, to the first NSAA Terrain Park Resource Guide and subsequent efforts.

By 2002, the company bought its next door neighbor, Bear Mountain, a ski resort of similar size. Both areas are now marketed together as “Big Bear Mountain Resorts,” which boasts 20 chairlifts, 100 percent snowmaking and generate about 750,000 to 800,000 visits annually.

Kun has served on the CSIA board since the late 1970s and also served on the NSAA Board from 1985 to 1989. The 2011 NSAA Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented May 6 at NSAA’s National Convention & Tradeshow in Carlsbad, Calif.