Sara Huey was the senior manager of communications for Park City Mountain for three years before becoming director of community and government affairs in October 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sara HueySince arriving in Park City in 2016 to work in the Sundance Film Festival press office, Sara Huey has leaned into storytelling as a way to make a real difference.She’s now director of community and government affairs for Vail Resorts, working across Rocky Mountain communities where the company operates, employing the experience she’s gained and connections she’s made through Sundance and as communications director for Park City Mountain and before that Solitude Mountain Resort. “What I love about communications, and this is true whether you are communicating to the broad public, in partnership with the media, or doing a one-on-one conversation or anything in between, is the opportunity for storytelling and to understand what your audience values and bring them along through storytelling,” said Huey. From her love for film and the experiences that artistic expression shares with the communities around it, Huey’s professional life in communications opened a window to Park City and the ski industry at the root of making it run. “(The ski industry) is not like a film festival, but in some ways it creates experiences that people seek out,” Huey said. “It is something they dream of and work toward, and to be part of the team that creates those experiences, I feel very fortunate to be involved.”Huey was raised in Spokane, Washington, and learned to ski at the nearby Idaho resorts Silver Mountain and Schweitzer Mountain. When her role at Sundance brought her to Park City permanently, Huey realized the world of opportunity and connection the mountains around her offered. She worked as a part-time ski instructor at Park City Mountain before becoming the communications manager at Solitude Mountain Resort.“I got to understand how Park City is connected, and what a unique and special experience it is to see it from the ground level as I moved about among the theaters and our different venues, and always looming above town is Park City Mountain,” said Huey. She became well known in town as she represented Park City Mountain as its senior manager of communications through the triumphs and trials of the past three years, including the high profile and fraught ski patrol union strike at the start of this season.Sitting down for an interview in a rare moment of speaking on her own behalf, Huey said, was new territory.“I am trained and experienced and accustomed to speaking on behalf of my employer, and so it is fun to sit here with you and get to have that personal connection,” she said. Representing a large corporation like Vail Resorts, specifically addressing community and local concerns, every day is not easy, she said. But ultimately, for Huey it always comes down to connection and understanding. “Whenever I’m in my professional capacity, I represent my employer, and it’s important for me to be clear about that. And my task, which is more challenging on some days than others, is to help people understand where Vail Resorts is coming from and what we’re hoping to accomplish,” she said. “If there’s any opportunity to work together with the person sitting in front of me, then I want to. I don’t want to miss an opportunity to identify that opportunity and see if we can work together in the future.”As Huey continued in communications roles, she found herself drawn not only to the stories unfolding across ski town communities, but also to the individuals shaping them.“In communities large and small, and regardless of the subject matter that it is your job to communicate, it all comes down to relationships, helping people feel heard and understood and understanding what it is that they value and how they envision where they’re headed,” she said. The conversations she has on a daily basis allowed her to see the realities of community identity and needs, she said. Huey decided to join the board of Mountainlands Community Housing Lands Trust, where she has been the vice president since October 2024.“In Park City, we understand loud and clear that housing affordability and attainability and child care are huge community priorities. Mountainlands just stood out to me for the impact that they have made already, and the scale of the work that they do,” she said. Huey was promoted to director of community and government affairs for the Rockies in October 2024. In this role she connects with the company’s mountain towns in Utah and Colorado — Park City, Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Crested Butte. She said her life experience and the knowledge she gained in Park City helped springboard her understanding of the communities that were new to her.“Some small mountain towns, especially those that are integrated with a ski resort, each have their own unique personality, and there are a lot of concerns that are in common. And one of my jobs, what I consider something that’s very important to be successful in my role, is really understanding where those different communities see themselves going and where we can find alignment with the mountain that exists there and work toward our mutual success,” said Huey. Still based in Park City, Huey said she continues to love the community where this professional adventure began. “I just feel so lucky that I get to work in a place that people go for vacation, that is dreamed of and that people look forward to,” she said. “And I hope that I never lose that feeling of being very lucky that this is what I get to do for work.”The post Vail Resorts leader stays rooted in community connection through a career in storytelling appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less