Park City Chamber Annual Meeting highlights new business partnership, honors Bill Malone

Photo: Carla Boecklin // Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau

PARK CITY, Utah  — The Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau announced a new two-year partnership with Locl at its Annual Meeting on Thursday, while also honoring former president and CEO Bill Malone with the 2025 Spirit of Hospitality Award.

The partnership with Locl will provide eligible businesses with access to digital tools designed to enhance their online visibility and customer engagement. The platform helps optimize Google Business Profiles, manage reviews, and monitor local search performance.

The Chamber will cover the cost for the first 150 businesses that register. Additional participants can enroll at discounted rates, including Locl’s Directory Sync solution, which ensures listings remain consistent across Apple Maps, Bing, and more than 50 consumer directories.

“Local businesses are the heartbeat of our community, and we want to give them every advantage to succeed,” said Scott House, senior director of partner services at the Chamber. “By partnering with Locl, we’re putting powerful, easy-to-use tools into their hands so they can reach more customers, manage their online reputation, and stand out in a competitive marketplace.”

The program was piloted with select Chamber partners over the past few weeks. Logan Jones-Olsen, owner of Upgrade Labs Park City, said the platform has already made a difference.

“As part of the pilot program, we found Locl to be an incredibly valuable tool for increasing our visibility in the community,” Jones-Olsen said. “It’s a powerful, free resource that every Park City business should be taking advantage of.”

The announcement underscored the Chamber’s commitment to supporting its more than 1,000 member businesses while strengthening Park City’s economic and cultural identity.

Alongside the partnership launch, the Chamber recognized Malone with the Spirit of Hospitality Award, presented by Myles Rademan and Park City Economic Development Director Chris Eggelton. The award, established to honor civic leaders and visionaries in the hospitality industry, highlights individuals who have made a lasting impact on the community.

Malone led the Chamber for 21 years, beginning in 1999, after leadership roles in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Steamboat Springs, Colorado. His tenure spanned the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and decades of tourism development. He helped secure a Recreation, Arts, and Parks (RAP) tax, supported the 2016 transit tax, launched the International Ski Pass and Quick Start programs, and brought major events, including the Tour of Utah, to Park City.

“Park City has been forever enriched by Bill’s dedication and leadership,” said Jennifer Wesselhoff, the Chamber’s current president and CEO. “You would be hard pressed to find a single organization or entity in Park City that Bill’s contributions over the years have not bettered.”

Eggelton reflected on Malone’s decades of service, crediting him with building year-round tourism economies in Steamboat Springs and Jackson Hole before arriving in Utah. He also recalled Malone’s humor and creativity, noting his appearance as “Bill Malarkey” in the Park City Follies.

Rademan praised Malone as “a civic leader, hotelier, planner, and visionary all in one person.”

In his remarks, Malone thanked his family, former colleagues, and the community. “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice,” he said. “That’s a big part of why we call Park City our forever home.”

The Chamber’s Annual Meeting, which draws members from across Summit County, highlighted both the Chamber’s future initiatives and its long-standing legacy of community leadership.