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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Mike Lee, (970) 496-4253, mlee@vailresorts.com
KEYSTONE RESORT RENAMES LITTLE BOWL IN HONOR OF BILL BERGMAN
Keystone, Colo- March 8, 2004 – Roger McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer of Keystone and Breckenridge Resorts, announced that on March 15, 2004, Keystone Resort will rename the recently added Little Bowl to Bergman Bowl in honor of Bill Bergman, one of the founding partners of Keystone and the resorts™ first president. The area known as Little Bowl was added along with Erickson Bowl to Keystone on February 2, 2004, when the US Forest Service approved the addition of 861 acres, making Keystone the largest resort in Summit County.
“If you look at any great success story in development, something that is truly special, you will find two people behind it; the person with the vision, and the person who organizes the financial support,” notes McCarthy. “Max Dercum certainly had the vision, but it was Bill Bergman who brought in the financial element that allowed Keystone Resort to become what it is today. Clearly we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for both of these guys, and it is right for us to honor their work.”
In 1967, after years of hiking the slopes of Keystone Mountain and planning out runs, Max Dercum formed the Ski Valley USA cooperation to develop Keystone Ski Area. Despite his early success in securing permits from the Forest Service, Max struggled to find adequate funding for the resort. In 1969, Iowa attorney Bill Bergman became interested in the project, assembled a group of investors, and along with Max Dercum formed Keystone International Inc. Under the new company, work progressed quickly and Keystone Resort opened to the public on November 21, 1970.
Bergman Bowl is one of two alpine bowls that are home to Keystone Adventure Tours, Keystone’s new snowcat skiing operation. Bergman Bowl sits east of Dercum Mountain and North Peak, and consists of 350 acres of skiing above timberline. Keystone Adventure Tours run 7 days a week depending on snow conditions. For more information on snowcat skiing at Keystone, or to make reservations, call (970) 496-4fun.
The Bergman Bowl naming ceremony will take place on Monday, March 15, 2004 at 9 am in the River Run Village Events Plaza. Following the ceremony, Bill Bergman will tour the new area in snowcats along with resort officials, friends, and family. Media interested in covering the tour should contact Mike Lee at (970) 496-4253. There are a limited number of spaces available on the tour. In addition, photography of the new area is available upon request.
The evolution has begun™
Big changes are in store for Keystone this winter. Stay tuned.
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Bill Bergman Biography
William A. Bergman was born in Fort Madison, Iowa on March 15, 1924. Growing up in a small town in Iowa, Bill always excelled in athletics, especially team sports. In 1942 Bill enrolled in the University of Iowa and joined both the football and basketball teams. His undergraduate education was cut short when the United States entered World War II, and Bill joined the Army Air Corp.
While stationed in Cerenigolis, Italy, Bill’s natural leadership abilities allowed him to quickly rise through the ranks to become the lead navigator for the B-24 bomber squadron. Following the allied victories in both the European and Pacific theaters, Bill left the service in December of 1945 to return to his studies at the University of Iowa.
Following his graduation in 1946, Bill was accepted to the University of Iowa College of Law where he met his wife Jane, and was married in April 1947. Following his graduation from Law School in February 1949, Bill and Jane moved to Cedar Rapids where Bill set up his first office. This practice eventually grew into the law firm of Moyer and Bergman, one of the largest firms in Iowa today.
Throughout his life, Bill has been known as the “Organizer,” for helping to start a laundry list of business, primarily in the manufacturing sector. In the 1950’s, Bill and Jane Bergman met Max and Edna Dercum, and in 1958 purchased the historic Alhambra cabin from them. Bill and Jane began introducing their Iowa friends to the joys of winter in the Snake River Valley, including skiing at Arapahoe Basin and the Dercum’s Ski Tip Lodge.
In 1967, after years of hiking the slopes of Keystone Mountain and planning out runs, Max Dercum formed the Ski Valley USA cooperation to develop Keystone Ski Area. Despite his early success in securing permits from the Forest Service, Max struggled to find adequate funding for the resort. In 1968, Bill Bergman became interested in the project, assembled a group of investors who were familiar with the Snake River valley. With the support of the Iowa investors, Max and Bill formed the formed Keystone International Inc. Under the new company, work progressed quickly and Keystone Resort opened to the public on November 21, 1970
From 1968 until 1974, Bill ran Keystone until Ralston Purina, one of Bill’s clients in Iowa, bought out the stockholders to become the sole owner of Keystone Resort. In 1999, Bill retired from the practice of law and he and Jane moved from Cedar Rapids to live in Keystone full time. Bill Bergman has been an integral part of the Keystone community for the past 40 years, and while he has only been a full time resident for the last 4, he is considered one of the pioneers of Summit County.
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