Courtesy / BigRock Mountain
A 1960s flyer advertising the mountain used the first sunrise as part of the promotion.
March 22, 2022
Northern Light Health goes big with $100K donation to BigRock chairlift campaign
Courtesy / BigRock Mountain
From left, BigRock General Manager Travis Kearney, BigRock Board member Michael Chasse, BigRock Board and Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Director Gene Cronin, Northern Light Health’s vice president of operations Daryl Boucher and senior physician executive Jay Reynolds.
A $100,000 donation from Northern Light Health helps put BigRock Mountain, a nonprofit ski area in Mars Hill, closer to its goal of replacing an aging double chairlift with a state-of-the-art quad lift.
BigRock kicked off its $2.9 million chairlift capital campaign in December. The goal is not only to replace the lift, which is over 50 years old, but to increase mountain capacity, shorten lift rides and help promote the area as a family skiing destination, according to a news release.
The campaign has raised $1.2 million in commitments so far, Aaron Damon, the ski area's assistant general manager, told Mainebiz.
BigRock hopes to put a down payment on the lift by this time next year, with construction starting in spring 2024.
Northern Light Health is one of several donors at the $100,000 commitment level, all of which are the second-highest gift from single donors, he said.
The campaign received its largest gift, at the start of the campaign, from Presque Isle-based MMG Insurance Co., which committed a $250,000 donation toward the ski lift.
BigRock is run by a nonprofit and overseen by a local board of businesspeople and winter recreation enthusiasts from Aroostook County and New Brunswick, Canada.
Northern Light Health comprises 10 hospitals from Presque Isle to Portland, and also offers home care, hospice, retail pharmacies, emergency transport and dozens of outpatient care sites. The system has nearly 130 locations statewide.
Northern Light Health said BigRock is an important community resource for outdoor activity and to help attract and retain health care workers to Aroostook County.
“BigRock is so important to the quality of life in the County,” said Greg LaFrancois, senior vice president at Northern Light Health and president of AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle. “It promotes a healthy lifestyle and brings families together.”
The ski area is on 1,748-foot Mars Hill Mountain, near the Canadian border with New Brunswick. The ski area is the largest in northern Maine and the Eastern Maritimes, with 27 trails, two chair lifts, two surface lifts and snowmaking on 60% of the terrain.
The mountain’s first full season of operation was the 1961-62 season. Over the years, BigRock has installed multiple lifts, built a three-story lodge, purchased snowmaking equipment, and most recently developed a beginner terrain area serviced by a triple chairlift.
Skier visits average 20,000 people per year and the mountain has partnerships with over 13 schools, local and regional race programs, and weekly ski for life group programs.
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