Cactus Valley student nears end of term as mini-mayor at Sunlight Mountain

Around this time last year, Sunlight Mountain Resort named their newest mini-mayor: April Carter, now a second grader at Cactus Valley Elementary. Before her term expires, we sat down with April to catch up on the past year.

April wanted to be mini-mayor because she’s skied at Sunlight since she was three years old. “It’s my favorite mountain to ski on and I’m a lot better since I started.” says April. “I like going down the Ute slope most of all because it’s fun and I can really move fast.”

Focusing on what could be done to make Sunlight better, April set out with an agenda of items she wanted to pursue. First and foremost, she had to have garlic chicken added to the menu. “Since I found out that we could add things to the menu, I had to have garlic chicken added because it’s my favorite dish,” says April.

Other actions April took included installing hand sanitizer stations to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. She also started a coat drive because she “wanted to make sure everyone stayed warm and cozy at the resort.” She says all of her ideas were about doing something good for the resort and everyone who comes and spends their time there.

A skier but not a snowboarder, April was inspired to be mini-mayor because of all her experiences on the mountain. “I like skiing because it's a fun little sport that you can do with your family and friends,” says April. “I mostly ski with my mom and one of my friends. It’s fun because you can do lots of things like running and sliding in your skis.”

April had plenty to offer in terms of advice that she would give to her mini-mayor successor. “I'd tell them to try their best to think of what good things they’ll want to do,” says April. “I would tell them to do what they want as long as their mother says yes.”

She might not be continuing in her role as mini-mayor, but April is already thinking about a return sometime down the road. “When I'm probably nine-years-old, I'm going to probably run again and see if I can win again,” says April. Until then, we’ll keep an eye on this young leader.