MOONLIGHT BASIN’S 3rd ANNUAL TURKEY FOR A TICKET DAY

THE COMMUNITY TURNS OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS FOR MOONLIGHT BASIN’S 3rd ANNUAL TURKEY FOR A TICKET DAY

December 18, 2009, Big Sky, Montana –
Moonlight Basin held its third annual Turkey for a Ticket Food Drive to benefit the Gallatin Valley Food Bank on Friday, December 18, 2009. Blue skies, great snow conditions, and moderate temperatures greeted a record turn‐out to earn free skiing at Moonlight Basin. With a donation of a turkey or 20 cans of food, individuals skied free for the day and season pass holders received a voucher good for one lift ticket during the 2009‐10 ski season. In addition, a new corporate category was added. With a minimum donation of 80 pounds, businesses would receive a lift ticket voucher for every 20 pounds donated.

“A huge “Thank You” goes out to the community. Last year we donated 7,000 pounds of food to Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Based on the growing needs of our community, we threw out the challenge of gathering 12,000 pounds. We blew past our goal with over 17,000 pounds of food, including 554 turkeys, delivered to the Food Bank’s warehouse,” stated Janette May, Director of Resort Sales & Marketing. “We had 28 companies participate in the corporate food drive gather over 4,974 pounds of food. What a great turn‐out!”

“I have never seen a happier group of skiers and riders in my 20 year career in the ski industry. They were so proud to be donating to such a great cause and the vibe around the resort was incredible, said Greg Pack, Moonlight Basin Resort General Manager. “Our company is thankful to be able to host this fantastic event and we express our gratitude to the community whose generosity ill help families in need during this holiday season.”

“In these economic times the Gallatin Valley Food Bank is astounded by the support and generosity of our community. We serve an average of 170 new households per month so continued support is essential to continuing our mission. Many thanks to Moonlight Basin for helping us provide food to 309 families this season,” stated Deanne Slaughter, Food Bank Warehouse Manager. Slaughter and her husband, Andrew, have volunteered on the day of the event for the past three years.

GVFB’s emergency food assistance program touched the lives of 3,000 people each month. An emergency food box provides approximately 55 pounds of food per household. With this type of demand, the food bank distributes over 70,000‐80,000 pounds of emergency need food each month.

Moonlight Basin’s participation in the Turkey for a Ticket food drive is in line with our support of other community programs, including M‐BAR‐T, an academic incentive program for students in grades 6‐12. In 2008‐09 Moonlight Basin rewarded over 1,350 students with season passes for receiving a 3.0 GPA or improving their grade by .2 during the season.