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“Some days I wake up and I'm a leader, trying to develop strategy and vision. Some days, I get up and I'm a manager and I try to develop a mission. But every day I am an educator.

“I like to use our vision and focus on experiences. I don't want to just own a campground, or a diamond mine. I want to create an experience for the customer to take away. For us, work is theater but it is also our passion. We take it to a more authentic investment of time.

“When a little girl comes into the diamond store and finds a diamond and makes a piece of jewelry with it, that is a memorable experience for her; that is what I find rewarding. Or a little boy who has never camped or fished before and we show him what a trout looks like or he finds a crayfish – that is memorable.

“Despite the changing economy, we have had steady incremental growth in all four of our businesses the last 15 consecutive years. I think the reason is we lead, we manage, we educate. No matter where we are, we are utilizing our distinctions, our diamond mines, the West Canada Creek, the Erie Canal and our KOA family. We leverage that every day of the year,” says Renée.

“Taking experiences to a whole new level is extremely rewarding for both us and our customers.”