Serving with Caring Hearts
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Speaking From the Heart
by Larry Law CEO & Founder
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Some years ago, the newly appointed CEO of Chrysler automobiles commented on the challenges of the huge business turnaround he and his team faced.
“I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel but then I realized it was a locomotive heading in our direction”.
For many of you, the glimmer of light you noticed in late winter was that locomotive.
COVID-19 has been with us far too long.
We’ve endured lock-downs, stay-at-home orders, closures, and separation from friends and loved ones. Our future is not as clear as we wish. We seek certainty in our everyday lives.
Connect and share ...
We need the ability to connect, communicate and share. COVID got in the way of those long-standing norms of human behaviour. And in doing so, COVID posed more than a threat to our physical health. It threatened our cherished human need for connection and community.
Living through COVID has shown us that the most important things we look for are reconnections with beloved ones, the desire to be immersed in outdoor green spaces and water.
There is new light at the end of the COVID tunnel. We have confident patience that one day soon we can reconnect, re-energize and find new experiences to enjoy.
With the daily decline in new infections across Ontario, fewer ICU admissions and a declining positivity rate, that glimmer of light is Step 1 in the province’s re-opening path.
The target date – subject to delay or advance depending upon vaccination rates and other factors - is the week of June 14. Light at the end of the tunnel … a return to connection and community thanks to the combined efforts of our health care workers, first responders, and everyone who showed up for a needle, wears a mask and maintains physical distancing. Your actions have created that light.
Support for others ...
During the pandemic, I focused on remaining positive and caring for others.
At Living Water Resorts, we are supporting our laid off staffs with weekly Friday meals to show our compassion and love. We created a fun and nutritious Mother's Day meal basket for each of our hundreds of staff as a way to reconnect with each of them and share conversations when each came to pick up the baskets. We shared our joy with all the staff over their family cooking via the photo contest and the positive feedbacks via our different Zoom gatherings. These may be small things, but they are fundamentally essential demonstrations of our human love in action.
I have been blessed, through local churches, to support the devastated people in Cambodia and India with food and medical materials through my years of missionary work. In Toronto and Collingwood, I am humbled by supporting the homeless through the Scott Mission and Collingwood's Out of Cold program during these challenging COVID months.
COVID has taught us a very valuable lesson: recognize our limitations and learn to appreciate teamwork and people as an asset to do good things. We now refuse to let the world of negativity and self-serving politics drag us down. Each of us now knows the importance of loving contributions to make the world a little better place to be.
At Living Water Resorts, our Business as Mission focus is providing each guest's stay with our caring service. With these profound fresh experiences, we sincerely hope that you will discover a transformation to a purpose-driven life and work.
A caring, serving resort ...
We are a caring, serving resort. We don't need to be a 6-star resort. We provide inspirational experiences so that our guests will smile at their lifelong memories and inspire them to practice a purpose-driven balanced work/ life.
By God's grace, I was humbled in April to receive the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs. This is a tremendous recognition of our like-minded team members and leaders, my family and my communities in different areas. We believe that we may find our renewal in serving others with our loving hearts. We live our vision to be a fun and caring community.
Thank you for reading my words. I look forward to seeing each of you again this summer as we connect once again.
Stay safe, be well
Larry Law
CEO and Founder
Living Water Resort
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Living Water Resorts News |
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COVID Update
As we write this issue we remain under a province-wide Stay-at-Home order.
We're pleased to report that our championship Cranberry Golf Course opened to Members, hotel guests and visitors on Saturday, May 22. Once again, freedom on the green! Golfing in safety.
According to the Province of Ontario, Step 1 of the provincial re-opening will begin the week of June 14. Dependent on achieving certain key health indicators this date could be advanced or delayed.
Under Step 1, Living Water Resorts will be allowed to welcome diners for patio dining at Lakeside Seafood & Grill and Station on the Green with a maximum of four people per table. Outdoor fitness classes of up to 10 people, outdoor pools and wading pools with capacity limited by physical distancing will also open to our guests.
Step 1 represents the first step in serving you with fresh open spaces as we always have done. We will also continue to follow increased safety protocols across the resort.
If Step 2 proceeds according to plan 21 days after the beginning of Step 1, outdoor dining will be increased to 6 people per table and our Living Shore Spa. The target date is the week of July 5.
Step 3 will permit our offering indoor dining with capacity limits, fitness rooms, indoor pools, The target date is the week of July 26.
Note that target dates are subject to change!
One thing that has not changed is the 700+ Acres of Fresh Experiences at Living Water Resorts! With miles of walking and hiking trails on our doorstep, nearby waterfront parks, and quaint downtown Collingwood shops offering curbside pick up, there is still so much to enjoy during your stay at Living Water Resorts. Experience the freedom to reconnect, explore and indulge!
Time to renew with a destination vacation near you!
Our safety is your safety
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Our Leaders With A Caring Heart ... |
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Meet...
Tony Frake
Cranberry Golf Course Superintendent
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In many ways, there is clearly something that sets the semi-private Cranberry Golf Course apart.
Perhaps it’s because the golf and resort management base all its decisions on the owner, Larry Law’s commitment to servant leadership.
The staff is united by a corporate mission to “…be caring, and care for others, as well as inspiring each other to help the community”. You quickly understand why everyone you talk to, from employees to guests and members praise this golf course and resort.
Tony Frake is the Cranberry Golf Course Superintendent. He first arrived at Cranberry in 2001 as the Assistant Superintendent. On Tony's first day at work, he met a young lady who worked in the pro shop. Tony has now been married for almost 15 years.
Over the years, Tony and his crew have facilitated many updates and accomplishments on the course which today sees approximately 28,000 rounds of golf annually. The care that Tony and his team provide has ensured Membership continuity since 1993. Cranberry Members feel they are members of a welcoming golf family with regular communications.
Tony relies on his golf maintenance team, some having worked at Cranberry for as many as fourteen consecutive seasons. “When you have a strong core as we have,” said Tony, “it truly makes my job easier.”
Tony added, “What makes things easier is the trust that Larry Law, Executive Vice President Warren Smith and Vice President Don Buckle give me. They value my opinions and allow me to do my job to the best of my ability.”
“Like it says in the first part of our brand promise, ‘Do what you love’. I truly enjoy coming to work every day. I have never had a day where I said to myself, ‘I really don’t want to go to work today.’”
Tony understands Larry Law’s wishes that his employees be servant leaders, leading by their service to others.
On especially hot or tedious workdays or when the maintenance crew has been working long hours, Tony often defines additional tasks with a one-word response of “optional”. He recognizes that sometimes the corporate mission to “be caring, and care for others” simply means giving your hardworking crew the option to stay and work or go home.
Fun fact about Tony: He is a diehard New York Giants football fan!
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Meet...
Kim Ward
Director of Marketing
Vitality Vacations
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For Kim, family is something that means a lot and she's thankful for her work family!
How long have you worked at Living Water Resorts?
What has made you stay?
I have had the pleasure of working for Vitality Vacations at Living Water Resorts for 9 years. I moved to Collingwood from Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, where I worked for 10 years with fellow team members Warren Smith & Francine Addison. When Warren moved here to work with Larry, he told us what a great resort and growth opportunity there was. And boy he was right!. When I arrived only Phase 1 was here, now 9 years later we have nearly completed Phase 4, and expanded Living Stone. So being here is being with my family, and for that, I am very grateful.
I'm originally from the United Kingdom and I'm happy to live in Collingwood because of the lifestyle, the water and the nearby escarpment. And, of course, our Cranberry Golf Course!
I love seeing our members and owners year after year, and I realize how important their time away with their families is. I have so many great stories and memories from them. What we do matters and it does change peoples lives.
What have you done during the pandemic and what did you learn?
These past 15 months certainly has been a challenge in so many ways. I have managed to keep very busy, with work and I now have a rescue dog, and he has been such a joy to have. It has made me exercise more and he cheers me up every day. I am very lucky to have great friends in my bubble, they have certainly been a big part of getting through these challenging times.
What do you like about being a part of the Living Water Resorts team?
To me is so much more than just work. I get to be with like-minded friends, and we are all going in the same direction with a true passion for what we do. It is an amazing feeling when you get to truly enjoy your work, and love creating new ideas and seeing them come to light by working together and having fun together along the way.
I take a great deal of pride in caring for my staff, building our team and providing support in challenging times...especially this past 15 months! We are a family and we care about our staff and are blessed to have the leadership that shows us they truly care.
What other stories of you and your career would like to share?
I have been so fortunate in my career. I have worked in the timeshare industry for 30 years, with three companies. At each one, I have had great mentorship from the owners, CEO and VP’s. The one piece of advice I would give is to seek out someone who inspires you.
Whether personal or professional, having that person in your life will always make you a better person and a happier person.
Fun fact about Kim
I love scuba diving and have been to many places all over the world, my favourite is night diving, which is a freaky feeling.
But one of my more interesting times was snorkelling in Iceland at Christmas time. The water is glacial fed, so absolutely freezing, and snorkelled at Silfra, where the two continents meet and drift apart about 2 cm per year. Silfra is the only place in the world where you can dive or snorkel directly in a crack between two tectonic plates and you can touch both at the same time.
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The Living Water Resorts Community Garden |
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Serving A Green Thumb's Dream! |
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With the vision and leadership provided by Lakeside Seafood & Grill Executive Chef Emily and fractional owner Paulette Clement, resort team members now have a dedicated garden to grow their own vegetables.
Our Greenhouse Team has revitalized our abandoned greenhouse located near the Cranberry Golf Course. The greenhouse is part of our rich heritage, built over 20 years ago. At one time the greenhouse was used by the Town of Collingwood to grow flowers for its use and as well as ours. Regrettably, the greenhouse has sat idle for the past 16 years.
Today, it has been reborn as the Living Water Resorts Community Garden.
The greenhouse provides 15 garden plots for use by our team members: by an individual or shared by two people.
Living Water supplied the dirt, seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation. Team members provide care and love. The morning crew and afternoon crews water, weed and keep the greenhouse clean.
The garden plots have been carefully planted and scheduled for growing times to stagger the harvests.
Each green thumb team member keeps half of the vegetables. The remaining half will be used by Chef Emily for her inspiring menu at Lakeside Seafood and Grill.
Once again, a confirmation of “serving inspiring experiences” by staff, owners and guests.
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A Lifetime of Achievement |
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Our Founder and CEO Larry Law is the 2021 recipient of The Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs Lifetime Achievement Award.
This was a virtual event but Members of our Leadership team were able to view Larry's heartfelt acceptance speech and visit his virtual table following the presentation. A very special evening.
'We proudly present the 2020/21 ACCE Lifetime Achievement Award to Larry Law, President and CEO of Living Water Resorts, for his outstanding achievements in business and philanthropy.'
Congratulations Larry on this well-deserved recognition of your lifetime of serving!
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Mother's Day Staff Food Baskets |
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To make Mother's Day special for everyone, Living Water Resorts once again spread the 'Mom Love' to each member of our Living Water family.
As Larry stated in his letter that accompanied the food baskets,
'While we cannot meet as a group – I really do miss our luncheons and dinner celebrations - I want to bring well-deserved joy to the hearts of each of our Living Water Resorts team members. And, bring special joy to all the Mothers who are part of our Living Water family.'
Under the guidance of Lakeside's Executive Chef Emily, the Lakeside team and Executive Vice President Warren Smith's team prepared over 300 food baskets brimming with delicious ingredients (BBQ ribs, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, dinner rolls, and butter tarts) for a special Mother's Day feast. Chef Emily included recipe cards to ensure the dinner was a success.
The end result was a special Mother’s Day Caring Basket for each employee. Staff received their baskets via curbside pickup where management and staff volunteers waited to load the items into their vehicles.
Moms were treated to a delicious home-cooked meal prepared by loved ones in the comfort of home. What an amazing way to say thanks to Mom.
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Mother's Day Photo Contest |
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Team members were asked to join in the fun with a friendly photo competition.
The winning prize was a complimentary Aquapath for two and a $50 dining credit for Station on the Green.
Lakeside's Tina O'Halloran won with this adorable photo of her son enjoying ribs!
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"The Greatest Baker" May Be Our Tina! |
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Tina O’Halloran, a member of our Lakeside team, has been nominated as the GREATEST BAKER from all over the world.
Tina is currently in first place in her Group. If she finishes first in her Group she will then proceed to the Quarter Finals and onward to the July 1st crowning of the Greatest Baker.
Tina is an incredible mom and team player. She also works passionately with Icing Smiles Canada baking beautiful dream cakes for children impacted with a critical illness.
Tina is a wonderful example of our Living Water Resorts caring culture.
VOTE FOR TINA!
BAKING A DIFFERENCE
If you are interested, here is the link to Icing Smiles:
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Chef Emily's Recipes From Our Kitchen |
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Ingredients:
- 4-5 pounds baby back ribs
- 2 quarts rib spice
- Salt and pepper
- 3 quarts porter or other dark beer
- 3 quarts vegetable stock
- 5 white onions, julienned
- molasses barbeque sauce
Instructions:
- Bring vinegar & wine to a boil with shallots & tarragon sprig, season. Reduce until 3tbsp remains. Strain.
- Over a double boiler, whisk egg yolks until thick & foamy.
- Remove from double boiler off the heat, drizzle in butter, whisking consistently, add chopped tarragon. If too thick, add hot water.
- Keep at room temperature until ready to use. (Cover with Saran).
- If need to reheat, put back over double boiler.
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Rib Spice Rub
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
- 1⁄4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Harrissa paste (red chili, garlic, lemon)
- 2 tsp. cumin seeds
- salt & pepper
- 2 1⁄2 lbs carrots, thin slices
- 1 lemon
How to Make:
- Pre Heat Oven to 450 Degrees.
- Whisk garlic, oil, maple syrup, harissa, cumin seeds.
- Toss carrots & lemon with mixture, season.
- Roast & Toss occasionally, until carrots are tender, 35-40 min.
- Toss with parsley or chive for garnish.
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Molasses Barbeque Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 4 1/2 tbsp steak sauce, such as A1
- 1/4 pound brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
- 1/4 tsp. granulated onion
How to Make:
Combine the ketchup, molasses, vinegar and steak sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once the mixture comes to a simmer add the sugar, chili powder, granulated garlic and granulated onion. Stir the sauce often to prevent the sugars from scorching and do not allow the sauce to boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Yield: enough for 3 racks of ribs.
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Stay active and engaged with virtual fitness! |
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ZOOM FITNESS CLASSES
We are offering our hotel guests complimentary Zoom fitness classes with Tita at 10 am Saturday to Tuesday.
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YOGA FIRST AND WELLNESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Experience a variety of yoga & wellness from YouTube
videos with Jenee.
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The extensive hiking and biking Collingwood and area trails remain open for you and your family to explore. Bike on the 34 KM long Georgian Trail and enjoy discovery walks and hikes in the woods of the nearby Bruce Trail.
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LAKESIDE EVENTS
Father's Day & Lobster Fest
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Collingwood & Area Attractions |
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Your Outdoor Grocery Store! Saturday mornings 8 am to 1 pm from Victoria Day weekend to Thanksgiving weekend. Local vendors feature a wide range of freshly picked seasonal produce, naturally raised meat, preserves, baked good and more!
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Millenium park provides an astonishing panorama of Georgian Bay, the Niagara Escarpment to the west, and Wasaga Beach to the east. The trip out the the grain elevators makes a lovely bike ride. It’s the perfect place catch a stunning sunset, or to fly a kite!
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The Awen’ Gathering Place is a space along the Collingwood waterfront to recognize the First Nations presence in this area and create opportunities for engagement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples while fostering reconciliation through education and conversation.
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Great getaways into nature within a 45 minutes drive.
Discover Eugenia Falls and Hoggs Falls and indulge in the spectacular views.
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