Craftsbury Outdoor Center changes hands
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Toolbox
By Andrew Nemethy Staff Writer - Published: November 23, 2008
It's the happy beginning of a new era for one of Vermont's legendary recreation centers and iconic visual landscapes.
After 32 years in the hands of the Spring family, The Craftsbury Outdoor Center in the Northeast Kingdom has a new owner – and the assurance that its year-round menu of sports and reputation as one of the premier outdoor training facilities in the Northeast will be preserved for the future.
The landmark deal, formally signed Nov. 7 in one of the rustic former academy dorms that are Craftsbury's unusual cachet, puts the center's 130 acres, many outbuildings, farmhouse center, lakeside shoreline and ski touring facility and dining rooms under the ownership of a nonprofit headed by Dick Dreissigacker, 61, of Morrisville. One of the founders of Concept2 in Morrisville, well-known maker of sculling and rowing oars and rowing machines, Dreissigacker used funds in the nonprofit family foundation to make the purchase, which he said involved several million dollars and proved "very complex" to negotiate.
"It's kind of a relief to be done with it,' he said, noting he's been working on the deal for over six months now.
An Olympic rower, avid sports enthusiast and father of three children active in sports with a summer home in Craftsbury, Dreissigacker's motivations were simple.
"I wanted to make sure it didn't go away, and thrived," he said. "Our kids are all into cross country skiing and have been into rowing for a long time, so it seemed like a perfect match," he said.
For founder Russell Spring, a Stowe stockbrocker who bought the rundown former Cutler Academy on Big Hosmer Lake in 1976 when few saw its promise as a recreational Mecca in the Northeast Kingdom, the sale is a "very positive thing."
"We have had four other offers and I never really pursued it at all," said Spring, who is now 82 and intends to continue greeting guests who have become friends and being a fixture around the center. But he knew the Dreissigackers and their children and after initial reluctance, saw their vision was similar to his and the sale would assure the property would remain whole and continue to improve.
"It was one of these things that was meant to be," he said.
Dreissigacker said his vision for Craftsbury under the nonprofit model will allow him to enhance its financial viability, improve programs and facilities. Most importantly, it will shift the operating model to that of a more public facility. He has studied other non-profits such as the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation in New Hampshire and Maine Winter Sports, which has created several ski touring centers in its goal to make healthy life sports accessible to schools and adults through its programs, and plans to emulate their operation.
Craftsbury's conversion to a nonprofit will immediately reverberate throughout the state's nordic skiing resorts and ski community. Dreissigacker plans to substantially cut ski touring fees and promote more of a club membership model. Day passes will only be $10, compared to $20 or more at other similar top-end nordic facilities, and $5 for children and seniors. But the key change will be a drastic lowering of season memberships to $50 for adults (a third of the previous cost), $100 for a family and $25 for students and seniors.
Enhanced programs for juniors and more "competitive training," not just in nordic skiing but in sculling and other programs as well, are also in the works for the center.
"We're trying to make it accessible to more people," he explained.
Long an enthusiast's haven dedicated to spreading the gospel of skinny skis, the center will be upgrading its grooming and expanding the trail system, though he says the changes will be "gradual." Key to those plans is the fact Dreissigacker also purchased a 100-acre parcel and home that is a linchpin for the trails, known as "Elinor's Hill," a scenic overlook with a rollicking downhill run.
The nonprofit model will enable tax-deductible grants, donations and fiscal stability for improvements for the future in the center's physical facilities.
"The funding to make improvements can be made with tax-advantaged dollars," he notes.
Longtime center director John Broadhead, who has overseen programs for 27 years, is both enthusiastic about the change and grateful for what Spring and his son Russell Jr. have done over the past 32 years of owning the center.
Like Spring, he has known Dick Dreissigacker and his wife Judy Geer for years and says it is exciting to have enthusiasts who live and breathe sports taking over ownership.
Broadhead said new and upgraded trails, cutting edge grooming, and more competition are all in the works, as is more outreach to local communities and sports enthusiasts of all stripes. The renovated farmhouse on Eleanor's field may in the future become an upscale lodge that groups or families can rent to stay right on the trails, and the addition of the 100-acre parcel opens up many new trail possibilities, he said.
"We've had a wonderful ride here for the last 30 years with the Spring's management," he said. But private ownership had limitations that the new ownership model doesn't.
"This will allow us to go many steps further, being a nonprofit foundation, it's amazing," he said.
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