Keeping guests happy
Summer is looking good for South Katepwa RV Park and its new management
Bill Willgress and Ellyn Boyd have both retired from their day jobs within the last year. The couple are experienced RVers with eight years behind them. When the opportunity to manage the South Katepwa Park came, the offer seemed to fit with the lifestyle they were looking for.
“We decided to take this on for a little adventure and then to go on down south after we’re finished here,” said Willgress. “Plus we’re earning money and it doesn’t cost us anything to live. The workamping thing really appealed to my girlfriend and I—to be able to go and work for two days a week and get the rest of the time off with a free site—but it’s a little different here. They’ve offered us (the full) position.”
South Katepwa RV Park seems to be doing all right in the RV world. It won a silver award for Saskatchewan in RVwest’s 2013 Reader's Choice Awards in the Favourite Privately Owned and Operated RV Park or Campground category. Still, the park aims to improve this year with upgrades and motivated new management.
Since stepping into the position, Willgress and Boyd have been busy getting ready for a booked-up summer. They’ve solved water system issues, updated the washrooms with new showers and finishes and generally tidied and prepared the park for guests. Among the challenges, said Willgress, is the fact the park managers need to be able to do a little bit of everything.
Overall, however, Willgress and Boyd look forward to meeting people and keeping their guests and the campsite owners happy. It’s more of a lifestyle than a job, but it might turn out to be a good way to transition from more traditional jobs. If first impressions say anything, the season is shaping up to be a good one.
“There’s a lake there where you can fish or rent boats or rent kayaks,” said Willgress. “There’s a provincial park and it’s really, really nice. I think some guests come for the fishing. Some might come just because it’s so beautiful. The Qu'Appelle Valley is dead flat and you can look up (and you can see little mountains on either side). You get beautiful sunrises and beautiful sunsets, so it’s quite spectacular."
