Snow Alliance
Who We Are
Snow Alliance is an industry game changer focused on driving growth through education and connection. We believe we are better together. Sharing our stories, our experiences, our expertise, sharpens our individual capacities and strengthens the snow and ice industry.
We host strategic events that bring together leaders in the snow and ice industry to learn, connect and grow together. Our events focus on real pain points and problems of running a snow and ice business and finding solutions that work. We bring together manufacturers and industry experts to deepen understanding and influence changes that impact our industry.
What We Do
Snow Alliance hosts an annual SPRING CONFERENCE geared toward helping industry leaders in the snow and ice business.
Conferences Include:
- Teaching from an expert on a pertinent topic
- A panel discussion with industry experts (both contractors and manufacturers of the equipment where you will have a chance to ask questions and give feedback)
- A delicious Dinner
- Networking with others in the industry.
- Special activities for accompanying spouses.You can find out more about the next Spring Conference here.
Each Summer we host a TRADE SCHOOL for hands-on learning, getting down to the nitty-gritty of how to use the top new tools in the industry.
We also provide ongoing Collaboration and Support opportunities to our members. You can see more of our upcoming events here.
Our Mission
Moving the Snow and Ice Industry forward by thinking outside the box.
Building deep relationships with those that have similar interests, and adding value to the experts leading this industry.
Encouraging contractor and manufacturer relationships through the existing connections Storks plows has.
Inspiring Innovation through Education and Collaboration
The Roots
The Storks: Back in December of 1979 my dad bought his first plow a Meyer straight blade to put on his Golden Eagle Jeep truck. In February of 1980, I was born and my parents had built up 30 contracts. Growing up my sister and I spent many hours riding in the plow truck as both my mom and dad plowed snow. We have always loved Snow as a family, people think we love snow because we are in the plow business, but for ME there was a love for snow long before we got into plow sales. After buying the shop in 1986 they had to drop their contracts to run the auto repair shop. We slowly sold some of the fleet of plows we had but specializing in selling and repairing Jeep's there seemed to be a constant flow of plows in and out. It started small. We grew to become a Meyer dealer in 1996, and from there we added more brands until the early 2000's we were spending our entire winters working on plows. As the phone calls started to overwhelm the shop I realized I was answering questions out of my brain and I had an idea to start a website taking that information in my head and giving everyone access to what we have learned by putting it online. The idea was to provide that information to help get me off the phone. We were a small 6 man show back then and it was hard to deal with all the calls. Well, that backfired in a good way, the phone calls multiplied, the website turned into an online store and in 2015 we closed the auto repair to have a full year-round focus on the Snow and Ice Industry. In 2024 we now have over 20 employees, the phones are still a challenge but the amount of people we have been able to help with their Snow and Ice Needs and the impact we have had on the industry continues to grow.
Snow Alliance
At our September 2022 open house event at Stork’s Plows, I had the opportunity to sit and talk to some of our regular customers. Through those conversations, I recognized I was not alone in desiring deeper connections with other people working in the snow and ice industry. In business we are often busy and taking the time to connect must be intentional. I realize people I deal with I often don’t know what struggles they are having, where they are spiritually, or how can we help each other through our experiences. That night, processing my day, I realized that working with manufacturers and business leaders alike I was in a unique position to bring people across the snow and ice industry together in a new way. I wanted to add value to the industry by facilitating connections that go further than transactional business, creating space where real relationships can happen and people’s stories can be shared. Thinking about how to do this the idea of Snow Alliance emerged, an organization that focuses on real connection that grows us all. That night it started as an idea of just a small meeting hosted by Stork's Plows and a free event, but I wanted to make sure it was adding value to the industry so I reached out to over a dozen leaders in the industry that we work with and asked what they want? The response was more value. Not a free event but an event that is done well and adds value to them where they can learn and network. So we got to work right away. I sat around my dining room table with a friend in the industry, My wife and our event planner. And we just started throwing ideas and creating questions. The event is not cheap for an evening and it was not meant to be. We want it to be an amazing experience and in comparison to traveling to something larger, it is a fairly low expense. There are other great resources out there for this industry like SIMA and SnowFighter Institute and we are not trying to replace these, please check them out. What we are trying to do is provide a local place to connect and grow that is an extension of these other events as well as a source for those that are not able to travel and be part of those events. This event is about learning for us too. We will have brands there that we do not sell. It’s not About what Stork's Plows sells but what is out there as options.
We launched our first event on April 15th, 2023. Our premiere sponsor was Western Snowplows. After some probing about where this industry needs more education Brine was selected as the #1 response. Our kick-off event featured a training and panel discussion on Brine from initial implementation to daily operations. The event was a hit and Snow Alliance was officially underway.
We want your Feedback! Please email us your thoughts to [email protected] Good or bad let us know. We are also interested in what topics you are interested in for future events and what you feel we can do to make this better.
Find Out More About Our Current Events HERE