By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
After a 14-year tenure as executive director of the Big Sky Owners Association, Suzan Scott retired on June 30. Scott’s successor, Holly Coltea, took over on July 7.
A two-year resident of Big Sky who dove into the community through a volunteer role as president of the Big Sky School District PTO, Coltea is proud to be a BSOA member and looks forward to championing the organization’s mission to preserve, protect and enhance its 8,000 acres of land and 2,400 properties sprawled across various pockets of Big Sky.
Coltea’s first week was intense, as she began learning the ins and outs of the large, complex organization. In addition to her background in leadership, entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships, she emphasized her excitement to represent Big Sky’s largest organized body of community members.
“It’s been a lot, but it has been extremely stimulating, and the staff here has been incredibly welcoming,” Coltea told EBS in an interview at the end of her first week.
She added her “utmost gratitude” for Scott’s long tenure, which began in 2012. “She paved the way for us to be here right now… I have tremendous gratitude for my predecessors—and it’s 2025, you know? It’s a whole new chapter.”
BSOA is excited to welcome the public to its annual meeting on Aug. 29, which will provide an opportunity to get to know Coltea and her vision for the organization.
BSOA board chair Maggie Good said Coltea was a clear choice among the list of job candidates.
“Holly has an incredible amount of energy and she’s very positive,” Good told EBS in a phone call. “She’s hardworking, and I just am absolutely shocked that we were able to get someone as talented as Holly to replace Suzan in such a short time.”
Good thought it would be a difficult transition between Scott and Coltea, but was pleased by how smoothly it has gone.
“[Suzan] accomplished an awful lot, and really helped set the tone for how the board works, and how the organization runs,” Good said. She said that Coltea will bring new energy to the BSOA board, staff and community.
“Everybody’s kind of pumped,” Good said.
BSOA hears constituents ‘loud and clear’
With a relatively fresh staff, the organization sees an opportunity to enter “a new era,” according to Coltea and Amy Gitchell, hired in late November 2024 as communications and events manager.
With new leadership, Coltea envisions BSOA being intentional and open to change—the 52-year-old organization won’t do things the same way just for the sake of tradition.
“The energy feels very positive, forward thinking, and our staff is hungry for what is to come,” Coltea said.
Gitchell said the BSOA heard its constituents “loud and clear” on the recent annual survey. “The board and the organization is committed to making sure that we’re able to execute on what they need,” she said.
One such need is communication: members want to understand BSOA activities, projects and benefits, Gitchell said.
Coltea is proud that the small staff—three full-time, and two part-time employees—are all passionate Big Sky residents, and she wants to enhance the organization’s human touch and outreach efforts.
“It is critically important that we have a human face and personality to the Big Sky Owners Association,” Coltea said. “… I want to bring it back to the old-school ways, because I think that’s what people are craving. It’s following the temperature of the community.”
Beyond just BSOA members, Coltea will work to enhance BSOA’s marketing to help tell its full story to the community. One goal is to make BSOA a more prominent player among Big Sky’s leading organizations, such as the Big Sky Community Organization, Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, Big Sky Resort Area District and the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District.
On her third day, July 9, she attended the monthly Resort Tax board meeting—not for any BSOA agenda item, just a desire to track local happenings and engage with fellow leaders.
“Because if I stay in my office with my door closed, I’m not doing my job,” Coltea said. “My job is to be a face for these 2,400 properties and these 8,000 acres that we’re managing.”
Other priorities from the survey, according to Good, include traffic and pedestrian safety, environmental stewardship and quality of life. She said Coltea and Gitchell bring strong experience and skillsets to tackle those problems.
“We have a direction from our members right now through our survey,” Good said. “… I think Holly is great for that, she has a great energy for meeting with people and working with people.”
In the near term, Coltea will focus on refining BSOA’s budget and continuing efforts to finish the second phase of the Huntley-Kern Pond project. Once complete, the project will offer a centralized, public swimming and waterfront area for public use. Fundraising remains a key focus after completion of the first phase.
The pond project is an example of the enhancement work that drew Coltea to her new desk.
“Chet Huntley was the initial founder of the Big Sky Owners Association and his dream was to preserve and protect this land,” Coltea said—the organization is proud to be Big Sky’s original governance organization. “And the rest of the world has discovered Big Sky… Now we are at this crossroads of preserving and protecting, and also enhancing.”
