I think I set Wintergreen's record for the fastest time to becoming a homeowner this year.

I first visited the green and white slopes of Wintergreen on December 31st when my friend Patrick Morin invited me to a New Year's Eve Party there. I met some really great people and pretty much fell in love with the place.

The next weekend, I brought my whole family up to the mountain for a visit. While my oldest children snowboarded, I watched my six-year-old - on skis for the first time - ski circles around me. When I suggested we might buy a townhouse at Wintergreen, my thirteen-year-old son exclaimed that was "the best idea I ever had"!

The next weekend I met with real estate agent Brian Chase, and after being assured we were at the absolute bottom of the real estate market, I made an offer on a lovely home in Trillium. If all goes well, we close on Thursday of this week.

As the newest Wintergreen homeowner, long time resident and race team booster Janice Smeallie invited me to a party this weekend, which includes a silent auction to benefit the Wintergreen Alpine Race Team. The team has a supportive group of parents behind them who raise funds to help pay for the young athletes' training and coaching. The team competes against others in the Southern Alpine Racing Association. To show my appreciation for the invite and to support the community, I decided to donate two autographed copies of The Naked Portfolio Manager and to take the winning bidders to The Tobacco Company for an illuminating discussion of rules-based investing. A complete list of items that are going to be auctioned will be available here this Thursday, so check back then and make a bid. Go Wintergreen Racing!

Labels: Wintgreen