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We are proud of the growth of
SkiNorthCarolina.com and
SkiSoutheast.com and we are proud to incorporate more input from our featured columnists. The following SkiNC and SkiSoutheast Columnists contribute many informative and entertaining articles throughout the season.
Mike Doble
 Mike is the Editor and founder of SkiNC.com and SkiSoutheast.com. Since September of 1996 he has written more than 1700 articles promoting all of the ski areas of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. While attending to the thousands of emails, photo submissions and On-Snow reports that come in all season long, Doble also owns and operates a full service web design and marketing company that has more than 800 clients in 24 states and several countries.
Mike is the father of four daughters, is an avid snow and water skier, football freak of his alma mater (the University of South Carolina) and hearty promoter of all that is Western North Carolina to West Virginia and Maryland. Mike spends his off time with his horses, playing golf, tennis and boating on Watauga Lake with his family and friends, coaching local soccer teams—and oh yes...Snow Skiing!
During other
seasons Mike is heavily
involved in promoting
tourism via websites
such as
www.GolfNorthCarolina.com,
www.GolfSC.com,
www.HighCountryWebCams.com,
www.LowCountryWebCams.com
and many more. Email
mike at
mike@appnet.com
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Joe Stevens
 Joe is well known around the
southeastern ski circles. Stevens was Director of Communications at Snowshoe Mountain Resort for 16 seasons with another 15 years prior to that in Richmond, Virginia newsrooms. Joe serves on numerous boards and committees and currently is a spokesperson for the West Virginia
ski areas.
Joe has been a featured columnist on SkiSoutheast
since 2005 and has
written numerous
articles for us, as well
as for others promoting
all of the southeastern
ski resorts. Joe resides
in Charleston, West
Virginia, with his wife,
Angie, and son,
Christian. He is an avid
snowboarder and marathon
runner.
Stevens formed The Media Center, with partner Dan Shreve in October 2005 to assist partners in managing their corporate message. The Media Center is a multi-faceted communications and production business in Charleston designed to help companies, government agencies or others
to access and communicate with the media.
The Media Center's satellite truck has performed uplinks for CNN, CBS, NFL Network, ABC, The Weather Channel, etc.
Joe Stevens and Mike Doble formed a friendship several years ago and Joe's insight, experience and knowledge of the industry has been a great asset to the website. Joe's column is "Joe Knows Snow"—and we say, "Why, YES he does!"
Visit the Media Center's website at
TheMediaCenter222.com You can write to Joe at joe_stevens@skisoutheast.com.
Joe is pictured on the right with his son, Christian. Joe Stevens, a member of the southeast ski industry since 1990 is a regular columnist for
SkiSoutheast.com and serves as the Communications Director for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.
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Meteorologist Brad
Panovich
 Brad
began providing weather
input for us and our
visitors several years
back when he was doing
weekend weather for WCNC,
NBC 6 in Charlotte,
North Carolina. He's
been a fan of the
website for years and
mentioned us on the air
numerous times and
during the 2008 season
he began providing us
with invaluable Winter
Forecasts and forecast
video input.
We asked Brad to join
our staff prior to the
2009-2010 season to
provide our visitors
with video forecast
updates every other
morning throughout the
season and those video
updates are one of the
more popular page visits
each day since.
Here's some more
information on our snow
loving weather guy!
In his own words:
Growing up outside of
Cleveland, Ohio I've
always been fascinated
by severe weather. I
love thunderstorms,
tornadoes, blizzards and
hurricanes. My parents
thought I was crazy, but
they soon realized I
really loved this stuff!
By the time I was 6
years old I knew I
wanted to be a
meteorologist. I wanted
to be a scientist, not
some "TV weather guy," I
wanted to chase storms
and do research. Plus,
those TV guys were
always wrong and really
weren't trained
meteorologists (so I
thought - wrongly, as it
turned out some were).
But at Copley High
School in Copley, Ohio I
got to take part in a
mentorship program with
a TV meteorologist and a
National Weather Service
meteorologist. I was
really blown away by all
the computers and
technology the TV
meteorologist used; and
I really enjoyed making
graphics. Not to mention
the thing I love about
weather the most is
sharing my passion with
others, even if they
think I'm kind of
strange.
I then picked my college
based on the meteorology
program. So naturally I
attended The Ohio State
University (by the way,
2002 National Champs in
Football!). During my
junior and senior years
at OSU I was able to
chase tornadoes with my
fellow students and
professors during Spring
quarter. It was the best
spring break I could
have imagined.
After OSU I landed a job
at the NBC station in
Dayton, Ohio doing the
morning shift. Soon
another station came
calling -- this time a
smaller market FOX
affiliate that offered a
unique opportunity. They
asked me to start an
entire weather
department from the
ground up. I was to be
their first Chief
Meteorologist in
Traverse City, Michigan.
Talk about snow!
Now I am happy to be
here at WCNC-TV as part
of the First Warn Storm
Team. I really love
Charlotte and the
proximity to the
mountains and the beach.
I'm an avid outdoor
adventurer and the
Carolinas provide me and
wife Tammy and my dog
lots of places to
explore.
When I'm not working I
still follow the
weather, it's a passion
that I've luckily turned
into a career. I love
biking, golfing, hiking
and playing soccer and
basketball.
If you see me around,
feel free to ask me
about the weather. It's
my favorite topic of
conversation. Follow
Brad on Twitter at:
twitter.com/WXBRAD
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Will Mauney
 Will's
been a fan of the
website for several
years submitting
numerous photos of the
day. Since Tuesday,
February 2nd (Groundhog
Day) Will Mauney has
been handling the
morning duties of
posting the snow report
and daily FirsTrax
update.
Will is a snow loving
member of our marketing
staff and a natural pick
to give Mike a much
needed "assist" with the
website. Will is taking
over the reins of
writing the posts for
SkiSoutheast.com for a
bit. He's is a 30 year
old, snow loving friend
who hails from Kings
Mountain, North
Carolina. Will joined
our staff this past
summer and he also works
weekends as ski
instructor and
supervisor at Sugar
Mountain Resort. Will
has been on the snow
this season more than
anyone else I know
personally and we think
he'll do a great job of
providing another take
on the ski industry of
the Southeast and Mid
Atlantic.
In his own words:
At age two I started
skiing at Sugar Mtn. My
family frequented the
mountain each year and
often stayed at Sugar
Ski and Country Club in
a condo my parents
purchased before I was
born. My grandparents
had a summer home in
Blowing Rock so went
spent a lot of time
visiting them. I spent
my youth climbing,
hiking, swimming, biking
and sailing in Kings
Mountain, NC and helped
with the family textile
business during its
glory days.
I was fortunate enough
to have the opportunity
to travel west each year
and visit other mountain
communities as well.
Deciding on where to go
for college was a
no-brainer and being in
the mountains was first
and foremost. I started
Appalachian State
University in the fall
of 1997 and started
working at Sugar Mtn. as
an instructor that
winter. Skiing and
teaching
skiing/snowboarding has
been a huge part of my
life since that first
season. I became a
full-time
instructor/supervisor/coach
and clinician as the
years progressed, have
completed multiple
certifications through
the Professional Ski
Instructors of America
(PSIA) and continue to
educate myself and
others on all aspects of
the snow sports
industry. In 1999, I
taught at Keystone
Resort in CO during one
of their Spring
Employment Programs.
This year I will
complete my PSIA Level
II and get a little
closer to the final
Level III certification.
I also started coaching
for the Sugar Mountain
Junior Race Team that
competes in the High
Country Junior Race
Series at Beech, Sugar,
and App ski mountains.
So my schedule this
season is as busy as
it’s ever been. 7:30am
till 4pm at Appnet then
4:30pm till 8:30pm at
Sugar during the week.
Sat. and Sun. coaching,
teaching and supervising
from 8am till 8:30pm at
Sugar unless we have a
race at another
mountain. I guess
they’ll be time to rest
when the snow melts.
But of course when the
snow melts it’s time to
go boating. I started
kayaking around 6 years
ago and quickly became a
big fan of some of the
amazing whitewater North
Carolina has to offer.
When the rivers are a
too low to kayak and the
wind is blowing I’m
always trying to take my
Hobie Cat out to Watauga
Lake to do a little
sailing. If there’s no
wind and no high water
in the rivers it’s time
to mountain bike or
climb. Living in Banner
Elk affords me the
opportunity to take
advantage of all of
these “free” and “green”
activities. When it’s
time to relax I usually
do that by playing a
little piano or guitar.
I finished my
undergraduate at Lenoir-Rhyne
University in Hickory,
NC with a B.S. in
Psychology and a minor
in business in 2003. I
will one day return to a
graduate school and
obtain a doctorate in
psychology. For the time
being I’m content skiing
everyday, watching and
waiting for the snow or
rain to fall (depending
on the season) and
spending time with my
fiancé and two dogs.
You can email Will
directly at:
will@skisoutheast.com
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