Bob and Susan Wojcik have operated Oak Cove Resort, on Lake Cora in Lawrence, for 39 of its 102 years. And when the economy mandates change, the veteran owners have never hesitated to spring into action.
The Wojciks have pumped $30,000 into their all-inclusive property to modernize, clean, paint and refurbish for the 2012 season. They hired seven new seasonal employees this year, offering their young staff the opportunity for extra hours (and more income) as well as incentives for stellar service. They have also loosened booking requirements.
"We have always booked week to week," says Susan Wojcik. "As the economy took a down turn in 2009, we saw our regulars losing jobs or being uncertain in spending. So after losing 24 percent in two years, after our best year -- 2008 -- we decided that a change in our business plan was necessary."
Overnights, two-day stays and three-day vacation or reunion bookings are now available and the owners are holding on to their 2011 rates. It is a drastic plan, according to Susan Wojcik but one that's working in their favor.
Reservations keep coming in and the South Haven/Van Buren County Convention and Visitor's Bureau recently bestowed on
Oak Cove Resort its 2012 "Preserving the past, Embracing the future" Award.
"We are booked tight until the 18th of July when we resume mostly our weekly guests who book a year in advance," she says. "We are considering expanding into the fall again for corporate retreats as we did the past two years, and maybe even fall colors."
Oak Cove Resort is open from early June through Labor Day. Visitors choose from historic lodge rooms, free-standing cottages with mini-kitchens and large houses with up to five bedrooms and full kitchens.
Oak Cove's abundant amenities keep vacationers supplied with warm weather fun. Water lovers have unlimited use of rowboats, canoes, paddle boats and kayaks for fun on Lake Cora, or they can use the heated in-ground pool. Volleyball, badminton, shuffleboard, horseshoes, bicycles, and nature trails -- as well as a daily 18-hole round of golf -- round out the complimentary fun that is situated on 16 quiet, wooded acres.
For indoor gaming and gathering, the resort's "Fun House" has a pool table, pinball machines, arcade games, a juke box, card tables, a TV and DVD player and a selection of movies to watch and books to borrow.
Then there is the food.
Children often line up at the original Oak Cove Resort icehouse to ring the dinner bell, and when it chimes, guest flock to dig into succulent, buffet-style meals that owners and their staff prepare daily. Roast beef, pork roast tenderloin, fish Florentine, lemon chicken and a plentiful salad bar are among the fare incorporated in the all-inclusive resort's lodging, as is a daily breakfast. The proprietors pack their menus with as much Michigan produce as they can squeeze in.
Visitors, some weary from today's fast paced life, come to Oak Cove to sleep in or to watch the sun rise over the water. To stroll wooded trails and ride bikes or to laze in the poolside sun. They come to read books in beach side Adirondack Chairs. They come to do nothing or to do everything. They have arrived in droves every summer for more than a century to relax and play.
Summer after summer, Oak Cove Resort continues to survive as generation after generation return and as new vacationers discover a hidden gem in Lawrence.
"This is our third recession in 39 years of business. We have struggled through each one by modifying our business plan to accommodate more people," Susan Wojcik says. "It isn't our first choice in our twilight years to work so hard, but we need to pay the taxes and our bills."
Their hard work creates an opportunity for their young employees to make more money and help the resort stay afloat, she says. "We want them to earn more, get overtime, to save and to spend. That's how the economy is supposed to work."
Writer: Kelle Barr, Second Wave Media
Source: Susan Wojcik, co-owner, Oak Cove Resort
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.