PORTLAND – The Bill and Irene Berry family of Farmington, owners of Saddleback Ski Area, was presented with the Maine Tourism Award for Recreation Suppliers at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism recently at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

The awards, which are sponsored by the Maine Office of Tourism and the Maine Tourism Commission, are presented to those who lead by example. Nominated by their peers in the tourism industry, the individuals and businesses honored at the conference luncheon were selected in a juried process.

Jack Cashman, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, presented the Berrys with a rendering of the state of Maine handcrafted in Maine from Monson slate.

In nominating the Berrys, Greg Sweetser of Ski Maine Association cited the improvements that have been made to the mountain since Bill and Irene Berry and their seven children purchased Saddleback in September of 2003. At the time, there was only one employee on the payroll. This past winter, there were more than 80.

In less than two years, the Berrys have pumped more than $12 million into the mountain for improvements: buying new groomers, more snow guns, updating chairlifts, clearing and adding trails, and more than tripling the size of the base lodge.

The Berrys have also kept to Saddleback’s traditional family mountain roots, lowering ticket prices dramatically and changing the trail names back to their original ones, which are named after fishing flies. A new hotel, a cross-county trail system and continued improvements are planned.