Hello, Mountainkind! Our exciting new brand (it’s even a new word) celebrates the essential character of Park City, shaped by contributions from each of us. It’s a four-season theme showcasing our mountain town spirit — our kindness, commitment to each other, and our dedicated environmental stewardship. Launched last week, Mountainkind invites visitors to join us in our passion for the outdoors and loving the mountain vibe. We’d like to share it with the community at a celebratory Mountainkind BBQ lunch on May 23. Details below!  If you’ve followed our journey, you know we’ve worked for years on a balanced approach to destination management involving Park City Municipal, Summit County, our business partners, and our residents.  We recognized our past marketing campaigns have been excellent, including “Winter’s Favorite Town,” one of the best I’ve ever seen. We’ll still use it, but it refers to just a few months of the year. We sought a stronger year-round identity we could identify with, one representing the real us as we build an economically balanced future together.  That led us to focus on people. Mountainkind represents Park City and Summit County athletes, artists, our Olympic spirit, love of hospitality, ambition and aspirations. We also wanted to represent our roots: the gritty, hardworking spirit and sense of community inherited from our mining past. Naturally, our love and care for the environment and support for each other had to be the cornerstone.  The journey began with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Park City analysis of 40 tourism-related criteria centered on management, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental impact. The GSTC sets global standards for sustainable travel; their work laid the foundation for Park City’s (and Utah’s) first Sustainable Tourism Plan. Completed in 2022 and supported unanimously by the city and county councils, it is now a model for destinations worldwide.  With the roadmap in place, it was time to reposition ourselves with a new, values-centered brand. We want visitors to learn to participate in our community and help preserve our mountain home. To encompass such a broad vision, we invented a word to define us and attract visitors aligned with these values: mountainkind. We’ve described it as a noun, an action, and an adjective. Noun: Spelled with a capital M, the Mountainkind are inclusive, caring, friendly, and fun-loving people who strive to make a difference. They respect nature, support arts and culture, and protect them for the next generation. Verb: To be mountainkind is any action that protects our environment and mountain town culture. Taking mass transit, offering everyone a friendly hello, and volunteering are just a few examples. Adjective: “That’s so mountainkind” is what someone might say when you offer a helping hand, their sidewalk or contribute to a favorite nonprofit.  Mountainkind fully expresses our destination, our town, and our way of life. It will help influence visitor behaviors and guide us in relating to each other in building our sustainable future. We’ve already launched new websites in support of mountainkind. ParkCityChamber.com has more information, and you will find a profoundly moving video at VisitParkCity.com/mountainkind.  Please check it out and share. We want as many people as possible to join in the excitement. I am deeply thankful to everyone who helped bring mountainkind to light. It’s been a long process filled with meetings, surveys, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, and feedback. Our board, partners and participating residents have been world-class contributors. Oh, about that Mountainkind BBQ!  Please join us at no charge to learn more and talk about mountainkind over a hotdogs and burgers at the Visitor Center in Kimball Junction May 23 from 11:00-2:00.  See you there! Jennifer Wesselhoff is the president and CEO of the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.