The following is a letter to the editor that was also supplied to the South Lake Tahoe City Council. To: South Lake Tahoe City Council or To Whom It May Concern, Regarding: Aimi Xistra.
I am writing this letter to address rumors regarding Aimi Xistra while she served as executive director of the Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation. I was a board member for four years while Aimi was employed, and at the time we turned the ski program over to Heavenly Ski Resort.
I can tell you a few things:
Aimi did not have access to our accounts or statements. Statements were all in the possession of the board and accounts were handled by board members. We had a process for purchasing supplies and approving timecards and payroll.
The Foundation ski program was not shut down due to mismanagement by Aimi or misuse of funds by Aimi. For several years before we handed the program over to the ski resort, there was talk that possibly this might happen at some point. We had two issues. The biggest and main reason was the cost of insurance. We had to have a liability policy for our club to be on the mountain. We also had Workers’ Compensation expense. The cost for these policies got to the point where they we about 60 percent of our total budget. Over several seasons, we researched and tried to lower the costs. Very few companies insure ski clubs. As a non-profit raising money, it’s hard when over half of the funds collected and raised go to insurance policies, and we haven’t even started the season.
The second issue was staffing. Like any business it’s hard to find employees, let alone enough top coaches who work seasonally and to be able to afford them, while keeping our programs at a reasonable price point.
For those two reasons, we turned the ski program over to Heavenly Ski Resort, which already had insurance and employees. The Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation non-profit stayed open at that time. It would still be used as a vehicle for the community to donate and to fund kids needing help with team fees, competition fees or team gear.
In regards to the rumors, we knew where they came from and the motive.
As a non-profit, we took the allegations seriously even though she did not have access to our accounts. The board agreed to do an audit of the books. I was appointed to do it. It took me two months to recreate from scratch three seasons of books. I ordered every statement, a copy of every withdrawal, every deposit, all the offsets, used every receipt we had on file, the list of athletes, and the breakdown of the fundraisers.
About 75 percent of the funds came from team registration fees. I accounted for each athlete, whether part-time or full-time or part of the Blue Angel program. I was able to account for the different prices for the different teams and match that to every deposit made. I was able to account for all of the expenses including payroll and fundraiser money. It all added up. It all matched our books, and not one dollar was missing. I did learn that when you have a locker room with 120 kids, you spend a lot on toilet paper.
Lastly, Aimi did a great job growing the club to about 120 athletes. She increased the age range to include younger kids to create development teams and create an athlete pipeline. She continued with the Kinder Cups and started new competitions for the 4-8 year-olds, including Rail Jams and Slopestyle as an introduction to those disciplines. Those were so successful, selling out, and we had kids and teams travel from out of town to attend. She worked with the mountain and was able to get night skiing set up for practice. That was so successful that athletes from other mountains asked if they could come too. The fundraisers purchased safety netting, radios for every coach, uniforms for the coaches to be identifiable on the mountain, and arm bands and vests for the young athletes to wear for safety purposes. Some personal information that I knew about Aimi at the time was that her mother had passed away and Aimi got some inheritance. I mention this because there were a few kids whose parents couldn’t afford the team fees. Aimi asked the board if she could donate to pay for those kids to attend. There was also an incident when one of our athletes fell off a chairlift. During her rescue, her ski outfit was cut off. The incident wasn’t a foundation incident but a ski resort accident. Aimi asked that the athlete get a new outfit. We had no room in the budget so Aimi worked with a local shop and used her own money to replace the athlete’s ski clothes.
I enjoyed my time volunteering on the board. My kids were also part of the ski program. This is what I know.
Sincerely, Terri Arnold
Former Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation Board Member