David's Blog

Most of us Duluthians recognize that the Edgewater Resort & Water Park is a community treasure. It offers our community members a convenient recreational get-away and a warm and refreshing respite from the winter storms that blow in off of the Greatest of the Great Lakes. It has also attracted thousands of tourists to our beloved community since it opened in 2006. The water park includes two four-story water slides, a vortex pool and a river that runs through it. For the first five years and eleven months, the water in that river was the source of joy and refreshment. Last month, however, harmful bacteria accompanied a swimmer into the water. In that instant, the world within the water park changed. Swimmers became ill. Management acted quickly, decisively and responsibly. They closed the water park. They aggressively treated and purified the water. They sent letters to those who stayed in the hotel and notified them of the problem. They notified regulatory agencies, including the Minnesota Health Department, of the concern. Additionally, they are in the process of installing a state-of-the-art water treatment system which will reestablish the water park as an industry leader in water purity. All of us in business realize - bad stuff happens. It is what we do in response to this bad stuff, these challenges and these difficulties that measure the quality of our leadership. I am proud to know the leadership of ZMC Hotels, the owner of the Edgewater Resort & Water Park. Specifically, I have great respect for Jon Driscoll, the Vice President of Operations, and Todd Torvinen, the President & CEO. I have worked with these fine gentlemen for several years. Simply stated, they are leaders of character and conviction. An organization's collective courage is usually equal to the personal courage of its leaders. John and Todd are courageous leaders who met this challenge head on, corrected it, and made the challenge known to everyone involved. It is time for us to collectively return to the Edgewater Resort & Water Park. As a community, we would do well to encourage our friends and family to once again swim, slide, splash and float down and otherwise confidently enjoy the sparkling clean water in the river that runs through the Edge Water Park. In support, David