As the winter season kicks into full swing, Park City is filled with the energy of its seasonal guests. Thursday evening, the city greeted its seasonal workforce with a welcome night at The Prospector.
The welcome night is a tradition dating back to its commencement about 15 years ago, and this is the event’s second year back since COVID-19.
“It’s really geared toward the international staff, but it’s very applicable to anybody who’s here for the season,” said Meg Wandishin, recruiting manager at Deer Valley Resort and the event’s organizer. “We have all the resources here, everyone from the library, local gyms, hair salons to Summit County Health Department and the police department.”
Deer Valley, with support from The Prospector and other local sponsors, hosted the event.
“In addition to us, there were 13 other sponsors of the event. It’s a mix of the international staff sponsors themselves and the largest employers of the international communities around here. So us, St Regis, Steins, Montage, West Gate, Waldorf, so really, a bunch of the employers here in town.”
Wandishin said that the goal is to welcome newcomers around town while raising awareness about everything the community has to offer, letting them know there are people here who are ready to support them. Many people, unless they’re in a situation where they need help, may not realize the resources that are available, she said.
Lisa Angotti, Wandishin’s predecessor, was the original mind behind the event. She wanted to create a way for seasonal workers to get more connected to the community.
“She worked at Deer Valley for about 23 years and was super involved with the international community and a lot of the J-1 and H-2B programs,” said Wandishin. ”She came up with the idea for the event originally. She’s always organized it and worked with other organizations in town to help sponsor it, and over time it’s kind of evolved.”
This year, an additional 10-15 organizations tabled, said Wandishin, each bringing awareness to the unique things they have to offer.
Jennifer Heredia and Erin Meottel from Peace House shared information about upcoming events and general information of their community offerings.
The services provided by Peace House are equally available to all members of the community, said Heredia. “Especially with J-1 Visa holders, it can be tough to figure out a new place,” she said.
“We want to make sure that everyone feels like they have a community here,” said Meottel. “Whether they’re here for a couple of months or they live here, everyone deserves to feel safe here and we want to be a safe space for them if they ever need our support.”
Many organizations provide free or reduced cost services to seasonal employees. Javier Alegre of Latino Behavioral Health Services said that they work with the employers of seasonal workers to provide services that are free, covered by their employer or reduced in price.
“We try to offer our mental health and substance abuse support groups for the seasonal workers, so they can have access while they’re here, while they’re working,” said Alegre. “Even if we don’t work with their employer, we will still serve them.”
The winter season adds around 2,500 employees, Wandishin said. If not for the many organizations who provide care and support for these seasonal workers, most would not have a place to receive it.
“It’s been amazing to see all of the different groups that did show up (to table),” she said.
As guests arrived at the party, they were warmly greeted at the door and set free to mingle with friends and tabling organizations. A live DJ kept the energy high as the crowd grabbed a slice of pizza and other refreshments.
Jose Garcia, a seasonal worker from Costa Rica, expressed enthusiasm for the event.
“This is my first year in Park City. I’ve worked in Colorado before,” he said. “Honestly, it’s great because in Colorado, where I have been, they never did anything like this for the employees, so this is really great.”
In the coming years the seasonal workforce in Park City is looking at significant growth, said Wandishin. With the expansion to Deer Valley Resort, new restaurants, hotels, shops and other businesses, there will be a need for more workers.
“The more people that are here, the more people that are going to need a lot of these resources,” said Wandishin. “We’d love to continue (hosting this event) and see what other groups we can bring in and who else we can get involved with it going forward, especially with all those new employers that are coming online in the next year, that’ll be great to get them more involved too.”