By Michael Somerby EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – It was 27 years ago when Ennion Williams, an
International Relations major at Roanoke College of Salem, Virginia, took a
summer job at Lone Mountain Ranch.
Then a humble, low-on-the-totem-pole member of the
world-renowned ranch’s kitchen staff, it was in that first post that Williams
seeded a connection to the remarkable community of Big Sky that has kept him
here for nearly three decades.
Now, Williams will bring that history, vision and experience
to the Outlaw Partners team in his new role as Vice President of Events.
To say he has inside knowledge on how the resort town ticks
is an understatement; anyone who’s been here as long as he has or longer knows
how much the town has evolved. But so too has Williams, eventually working his
way up the LMR chain of command, guiding fishing trips for the ranch as soon as
1995 and ultimately becoming the general manager in 2006.
He then left LMR in 2010 to pursue an interest in guiding
fly-fishing trips on the many blue-ribbon waters in close proximity to town,
spearheading the guide offerings for Grizzly Outfitters. In 2012, he took on a
job as GM of Big Sky Vacation Rentals, holding that position until 2017 when he
decided to return to guiding and the culinary field.
Williams was head chef at the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club’s
Sacajawea Camp Yurt for the winter of 2018-19 and decided to then bolster his
summer workload by assisting Outlaw Partners in two of their most prominent
July events—the Peak to Sky concert and Big Sky PBR. He will continue to cook
haute cuisine at the yurt this winter.
“I’m excited to work full time with a world-class
organization that has been a regional and industry leader in producing events,”
Williams said. “This summer was great glimpse into that world, and I look
forward to contributing further.”
Williams has also sat on many of the town’s boards over the
years, serving as the current chair for the Big Sky Transportation District, a
post he’s held since 2006, and on the boards of the Big Sky Convention and
Visitors Bureau and Visit Big Sky. from 2006 to 2019. He’s also sat on the
board for the Gallatin River Task Force since 2018—a natural fit for the avid
angler.
Williams hopes to bring his deep background in Big Sky—nonprofit,
advisory and service industry—to the Outlaw Partners’ table and bolster an
already strong events division team.
“I think that my experience in Big Sky managing and creating
events, directing and sitting on boards will give me the acute ability to know
how to grow events for Big Sky’s promising future.”
A tip of the cap to Big Sky’s newest Outlaw.
