Hayti / Portageville KOA

Meet Your Hosts

"We enjoy having a friendly campground that makes guests feel welcome"

Ron and Karen DeFlavis are the new owners of the Hayti/Portageville KOA Kampground, but they are not new to campground ownership. "This is our third KOA. We are proud to be part of the great KOA system and we have lots of plans for improving and updating the campground and providing fantastic guest services," says Ron.

"We enjoy having a well-run, clean, friendly, fun campground that makes guests feel appreciated and welcome. We love it when previous guests send others here and return themselves," says Karen.

Before they attended a KOA seminar in Florida and decided to build their first KOA Kampground, Ron worked as a general contractor, a realtor, and a building construction teacher. He also has managed more than 160 rental units and constructed more than 750 homes and office buildings. "We embarked on campground ownership as a way to semi-retire and still have some income while we enjoyed the work."

Karen recalls an example of how the DeFlavis' helped out a young mother traveling with two young children, who ended up in the hospital overnight. "We took the girls for the night, gave them teddy bears to sleep with, and made them - and their mother - feel secure. We communicated throughout the event with the husband who was waiting for them at home and needed reassurance that everyone was being cared for. The mother was able to finish her trip the next day and called us to let us know she made it home."

When they are not working - or taking care of those in need - the DeFlavis' enjoy traveling, camping, fishing and their own grandkids.