The Winthrop Rink has named Ryan Bell as its new executive director.
Paul Butler, president of the Winthrop Ice Rink Board of Directors, said “all of us on the board feel lucky and privileged that we have such an exciting and experienced ice rink professional among our own existing staff who is motivated to step forward and take over the vital executive director position.”
Bell replaces replacing Steve Bondi, who resigned from the position recently. He brings 15 years of ice rink industry experience to the position, according to a press release.
Bell learned to drive the Zamboni ice-grooming machine in high school, working at the World Arena Ice Hall in Colorado Springs, Colorado — a facility associated with the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
While attending the University of Colorado, Bell became the student ice rink manager at the CU Rec Center. After graduating, he joined the management team of the three-rink Ice Centre at the Promenade in Westminster, Colorado.
Bell left the ice rink industry in 2001 to follow a career in journalism, eventually taking a job with National Geographic Explorer. He circled the globe documenting the ways food and agriculture impact the natural world.
According to the release, “Through his marriage to Madeleine, daughter of longtime Methow Valley residents, Ryan had skated at Winthrop Rink during winter vacations. In 2018, the couple moved to Winthrop with their two young daughters, Octavia and Esme, and he was excited by the opportunity to work again at an ice rink.”
“The Winthrop Rink has been a terrific way to meet people: hockey players, figure skaters, vacationers, and my co-workers,” Bell said in the release. “And I’ve really enjoyed applying my experience in the industry to my role as Ice and Rink Manager. There’s been a lot of learning to do, as well, because outdoor ice is a different animal than the controlled environment of an indoor rink.”
For information, email info@winthroprink.org.
