Happy New Year!
As we kick off a new year in 2019 we are pretty excited at Kavanaugh’s Resort because we find ourselves entering our 50th year of operation!! Of course the downside of 50 years here in the Brainerd Lakes area is that it means we are also getting old!! When our parents, Sherm and Mae, bought the resort in 1969 I don’t know if anyone thought that we would still be going strong here 50 years later, or that the resort would still be operated by 4 of their sons. It has been a lot of fun from those early days and our 9 original cabins and a small restaurant, gravel driveways, and of course…not much grass. We’ve made a lot of changes over the years and have always taken our parents formula of a “Family Tradition“ to heart. We have all worked hard in hopefully making our resort a little bit better everyday and we especially enjoy the unique opportunity to work with each other as a family. We love the fact that each an every one of our parents grandchildren (15 in all) have worked here at the property as well as 1 great grandchild…so far! Mom and Dad had a vision back in 1969 and it was quite simple; offer a great product and the friendliest hospitality possible and your guests will come back again and again. You know what? It works! We have so many guests that return year after year and many of those have passed the 30-year mark or more!! When that happens those guests start to feel a little bit like extended family and I think that might be what makes the resort business so special. Minnesota resorts are a somewhat unique thing in the hospitality business, being mostly family owned and operated, and catering to families (some very large families!). Offering this great Minnesota experience of spending time together at the lake is a wonderful thing. When our parents got into the resort business they didn’t necessarily understand that, but they did understand family; spending time together, and of course, working together. Perhaps that is what drew them into this lifestyle and why they fell in love with it as well. Being a part of the Brainerd Lakes and Nisswa Area communities all of these years has been such a wonderful blessing and we certainly have found out why it is often said that Resort Ownership isn’t just a job but is a lifestyle, and we are so proud to be one of so many Minnesota Resorts. Our family has certainly loved that lifestyle because it has not just been a job but an opportunity to build something special that so many people have been able to enjoy, and to become in so many ways, a part of the Kavanaugh experience. Thank you to each and every one of you who have made these 50 (almost) years possible and have helped our family make so many wonderful memories with all of you.