About Me

OkemoLodging.com Creator Chris Clay (Right)I am the creator and maintainer of the site.  I lived in the Okemo Valley area (Chester specifically) from 2000 to 2004, when my partner and I purchased and operated The Stone Hearth Inn.  During that time, I was active with the regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as the local Innkeepers Association.  It became clear that visitors to the area were looking for an "escape", many from New York, New Jersey, the Boston metro area and Connecticut.  They were in search of accommodations, dining, and attractions.  In winter months, the biggest attraction was skiing, so it came as no surprise that southern and south central Vermont were a perfect fit - 6 ski resorts - most within a few minutes to a 45 minute drive from the most popular southern Vermont towns and villages.  Essentially, the Okemo Valley region was far larger then just one mountain.  And aside from the many Spring, Summer & Fall attractions in our region, visitors also enjoyed close proximity to the bustling towns of Manchester and Woodstock.

And so in late 2002, when I started to expand my web design work, I also decided to create a site dedicated to the Okemo Valley region, but a region "without boundaries".  I selected some of the more popular destinations, the 6 mountains serving those towns, and a handful of dining and lodging partners to quickly populate this site.  Essentially, I created a site that I feel best serves the guest!  In 2004, I expanded the site by adding a History Page, a new Attractions page, and an updated Resources page.  Additional work was done to help put the web site in (or near) number 1 positions in various search engines.

Please use my contact form to send your comments, questions, or anything else you would like to share regarding this site.  If you would like to provide area photograph's, I will be happy to incorporate some into the site - always with credit to the photographer.

Originally from the New Jersey Shore, and a graduate of Johnson & Wales College (now a University), I currently reside work in the travel industry and continue to do some free-lance web design, and VJ work.  I have some wonderful memories of my years in Vermont, many new friends and forever an attachment to the place I called home for nearly 4 years.  Having been an Innkeeper (and formerly in Hotel Management as well), I also have great respect for the operators and owners of all small businesses, especially those in the Hospitality Field.

Thank you - and enjoy the site!

Chris Clay

P.S. That's me pictured above, taken during a trip with my Mom in August 2004 that brought us through Hyde Park New York and into Vermont.

 

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