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About the Club

Rumor has it that the Holmdel Ski Club was formed in the 1960's as an all volunteer, social activity club in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of AT&T Bell Laboratories. A history of the Club and its association with AT&T can be found here.  In the 80's, the stated purpose of the Club was "to provide a means for its members to join together in skiing and other recreational activities, both indoor and outdoor, during noon hour and outside working hours, thereby gaining the benefits of group participation in these activities."   Back then, working for Bell Labs was pretty much a guarantee of lifetime employment and the Labs sponsored plenty of non-work oriented recreational activities.   A significant percentage of Bell Labs employees were 20-something college graduates who were brought to New Jersey from across the planet.  These people typically did not have any other social ties in New Jersey and they were looking for a place to meet other people and share in good times.  The Holmdel Ski Club provided an ideal venue for those people to meet other adventure minded people and to ski in the safety of groups.   Membership peaked to about 1,500 members in the early 90's.   Many long lasting friendships were created within the Holmdel Ski Club.  The Club ran about 12-15 trips per year and each trip was filled with eager adventurous members that all shared a common bond - the desire to challenge one's self on a ski slope.     

In 1993, AT&T eliminated the corporate sponsorship of activity clubs.   The Holmdel Ski Club Executive Committee officers decided to continue the operation of the Club as a  non-profit social club.   Employment by AT&T is no longer a requirement of being a Club member.  The Club still operates today, many decades after its inception, and still is an all volunteer organization.  The purpose of the Club has changed with the times and is now, "to provide a means for its members to join together in skiing and other recreational activities, thereby gaining the benefits of group participation and camaraderie in these activities."

The day to day operation of the Club is managed by the Executive Committee, which is a group of 10 or so members who choose to volunteer their time to gather potential trip destinations, book travel, lodging, and lift tickets with tour operators, handle the various logistics, and act as a financial transfer agent between the trip participants and the tour operators.

Today, the Club's membership numbers around 400.  The Club retains the atmosphere of enjoyable, adventurous people who typically have roots in the AT&T community.   The average age of the members has grown with the Club and is now in the 50's thru 70's.   Many members bring their adult children and friends, while others choose to join the trip and meet new people. The Club membership profile tends to be the adventurous, somewhat conservative, family-oriented skier or rider, in groups of singles, couples, and families.   The Club has skiers/riders of all skill levels, from the double-black diamond crowd to the beginning skier. Equally-skilled skiers/riders tend to hang together on the slopes.  If a single person signs up for a trip, the Club will attempt to match that person with a roommate.  The Club typically runs one or two week-long airline trips per season. The Club used to run bus trips to New England ski resorts but the ski industry has changed from highly discounted group lift tickets to partner season passes from Epic and Ikon. The Club can no longer offer bus trips at a reasonable cost. 

Even though the Holmdel Ski Club has fewer members than in the good ole days, the current membership enjoys a value-priced selection of ski trips to out-of-the-way locations.  In today's Internet age, it is quite easy for an individual to schedule a ski trip with a few clicks of the mouse.   The Holmdel Ski Club addresses that challenge by finding locations that are difficult to get to, and group pricing that is more than competitive with what an individual could find.   The Club still provides planning and arrangement of all trips and full logistical support for the trip participants.  Other than sign up for a trip, the participants merely have to show up for the bus.   The Club provides the participants with their transportation, lift tickets, and hotel reservations.  Two Club trip leaders typically attend each trip to ensure that the trip logistics go smoothly. 

[page last updated: 05/28/2023 ]

 

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