Boyne Resorts is an owner and operator of ski and golf resorts in the United States. The company employs over 7,000 full-time and seasonal staff. It operates 13 resort properties: 10 ski resorts and 11 golf courses. The company, based in Boyne Falls, Michigan, owns and/or operates properties in the U.S. states of Michigan, Montana, Washington, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. History Boyne Resorts was founded by Everett Kircher, Jim Christianson and John Norton in 1947. They purchased a steep hill in Northern Michigan for $1 from former State Senator Pierson. Then the co-founders bought a single chairlift from Sun Valley in Idaho and installed it at their Northern Michigan resort as its first lift. This chairlift was the first ever built and is still in service today, it has been upgraded several times. In 1954, Boyne built and opened the Gatlinburg Skylift in Tennessee as a summer tourist attraction. In 1963, Boyne Highlands in Northern Michigan was added and by 1967, Boyne Mountain expanded to include additional lifts and a golf course. Robert Trent Jones designed the first resort course in the region at Boyne Highlands in 1966. After Boyne passed opportunities to acquire Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming, they closed a deal to purchase Chet Huntley's Big Sky Resort in 1976, only a few years after its opening in December 1973, and now is the second-largest ski resort in the United States by acreage. In 1986, Boyne purchased Brighton outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 1990s, Boyne USA purchased golf courses in Michigan and Florida. 1997 brought along the company's fifth ski resort, Crystal Mountain, Washington. In 2001, Boyne added its first Canadian resort, Cypress Mountain outside Vancouver, British Columbia. Cypress Mountain was the host to all the Freestyle and Snowboard events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. In 2002, the company's founder and visionary, Everett Kircher died; his children maintained Boyne as a privately held company (Kircher had transferred ownership of the company to his children in 1976). John Kircher oversees the Brighton and Crystal Mountain operations. Stephen Kircher oversees the Eastern and Midwest operations as well as Western operations at Big Sky Resort, Cypress Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie. Amy Kircher is the Chairperson of the board. In 2007, Boyne Resorts entered into a sale and leaseback arrangement