Disney rumours Earlier this spring there was a rumour around town that Intrawest was being eyed by the Disney Corporation. Now the rumour has moved further south. Speculation in Ketchum, Idaho for most of July has been that Disney is ready to purchase Sun Valley. Spokesmen for both Disney and Sun Valley have repeatedly denied the rumour, but that hasn’t halted speculation. The price tag, according to the rumour mill, is $300-$350 million. Just as rumours of Intrawest purchasing Whistler Mountain seemed to come to life every few years (prior to coming true in December 1996), rumours of Disney’s purchase of Sun Valley first came up several summers ago. The source of the rumours is an annual retreat in Sun Valley, hosted by a New York investment bank, which brings together executives from media, entertainment and finance industries. Pitoniak honoured Whistler resident and Intrawest senior vice president Ed Pitoniak was one of five ski industry people to be presented with the first SAMMY Awards, at the National Ski Area Association convention in Florida in May. The SAMMY Awards, created by Ski Area Management magazine, recognize "individuals whose strong, innovative leadership, demonstrated at mid-career, shows exciting promise for even more accomplishments and leadership in the future." Pitoniak was with Times Mirror Magazines for nine years, including stints as advertising director and editor-in-chief of SKI Magazine, before joining Intrawest in 1996. His current title is senior vice president resort enterprises, Intrawest Resort Operations Group. Other SAMMY Award recipients were Guy Desrosiers, general manager of Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec; Tim Boyd, president of Peak Resorts, Inc., Eureka, MO; Stacy Gardner, director of communications, National Ski Areas Association; and Karl Kapuscinski, vice president and general manager, Mountain High Resort, California;
