Chad Linebaugh; Sundancing his dream.

• Author: Whitesides, Hilary Ingoldsby
• Position: Spotlight

Fourteen years ago, Chad Linebaugh was a college student looking for any job that included a free ski pass. Fast forward past stints as a waiter and regional and national sales manager and today Linebaugh is the co-general manager of Utah's celebrated Sundance Resort.

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"It's been a great journey," Linebaugh says.

Growing up in Pleasant Grove, Linebaugh remembers not only loving business, but discovering an interest in the hospitality industry. "My family traveled a fair amount and from a fairly early age I always thought I wanted to be in the hotel business," Linebaugh says.

At 15 Linebaugh moved into the hospitality industry working as a dishwasher at the Underground Restaurant in Provo, and at 17 was a busboy at what was then the Excelsior Hotel. When he graduated from high school, he moved to San Diego, Calif, to work as a banquet captain at the La Jolla Marriott. As winter arrived however, Linebaugh started to miss the snow - and more specifically skiing - and heeded the call to return to Utah.

Having grown up skiing at Sundance, Linebaugh was happy to be a waiter at the resort and frequently put his free ski pass to use. Although he was also a business major at UVSC, he never imagined that a combination of waiting tables and pursuing his favorite hobby would help him fulfill his professional dream.

"Sundance gave me my career and my wife, which I guess really equals my life," says Linebaugh, whose wife's family was one of the few who live at Sundance.

All it takes is a quick conversation with Linebaugh to see just how passionate he is about his work. His eyes light up as he talks about the skiing, film festival, art classes, restaurants and many other amenities Sundance has to offer. And though he may be too humble to make...