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vacation industry review

APRIL – JUNE 2015

WELK RESORTS

By J.B. Bissell

That happened in 1964, and as legendary as the story is,

what’s even more impressive is how enduring and successful the

company has been throughout the five decades since. While

there were certainly innumerable important business decisions

made during that time, one of the biggest was to begin offering a

vacation ownership product.

“By 1981, Lawrence Welk had retired from the show,” recalls

Jon P. Fredricks, Welk Resorts’ president and CEO. “His son

Larry Welk was president and CEO at the time and realized the

potential for this property as a timeshare resort.

“Larry had a friend who owned a timeshare in Cancún, Mexico,

and raved about the concept. So, in 1984, Larry conceived our first

timeshare resort in Escondido: the Lawrence Welk Resort Villas, a

widely successful, low-density property with 286 two-bedroom

units and three recreation centers.”

These two momentous company events — the initial purchase

in 1964 and the debut of vacation ownership in 1984 — made

2014 a big year of celebrating for Welk Resorts, as the company

commemorated its 30th anniversary of timesharing and 50th

anniversary overall.

NORTHSTAR LODGE BY WELK RESORTS

Welk Resorts marked two milestones at a celebration attended by family members

(below) and employees. Above are CEO and President Jon Fredricks; Jeff Segall,

Welk Resorts consultant; and Michael Gehrig, president of sales and marketing.

Five Decades of

Focus on the Guest

By now, the story of how

got

started — the trip to survey an orange grove

that snowballed into the purchase of a plot of

land with a small motel, recreation center,

nine-hole golf course, and almost 100 mobile-

home spaces — has been etched in the

annals of holiday accommodation folklore.