Being inspired, having a dream, being able to follow it and having it come true is the stuff of a happy life and in this edition of Leisure Management, we celebrate a wide range of people who’ve realised their dreams within this industry and examine where reward has followed inspiration, good intentions, risk-taking and hard work.
Read our exclusive interview on page 30 with Jenny Jones – Britain’s first Winter Olympic medallist on snow – and find out about her incredible journey from chalet maid to the Sochi podium and into the history books.Then on page 54, we talk to Erik Lorincz, head bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy in London. After seeing a photo of someone pouring a cocktail in Rolling Stone and going to hotel and bar school, Lorincz left his native Slovakia and came to London to work clearing tables in a club while he took English lessons.
His ensuing success – including the job at the Savoy, a place on the global lecture circuit and ties with luxury brands such as Cartier and James Bond – show how commitment and hard work can transform prospects.
Sometimes, passions and skills combine to create innovations. On page 40, we talk to Jason deCaires Taylor, a sculptor whose passion for scuba diving led him to create the first underwater sculpture museum, to educate people about marine preservation. The sites are deployed to ease pressure on other sensitive ecosystems and more are planned around the world.
On page 58, we tell the story of the Dormy House Hotel – a dream realised by the family behind the Ecover brand to create a sustainable business and on page 82, we hear from Paul Scialla, the entrepreneur behind the Well Building Standard™ and Delos brand, who left a career in banking with Goldman Sachs to pursue his dream.
When a dream’s realised, it can be then be nourished and sustained, as is the case with Center Parcs, which opens its fifth site in the UK next month following years of hard work by the management team and backers, who’ve battled through a full public enquiry (page 24).
The original Center Parcs was the dream of Piet Derksen, who opened the first village in 1967 in the Netherlands. Although he was a hard-nosed entrepreneur, he also dreamed that Center Parcs would one day raise the funds to enable him to make substantial donations to third world aid projects.
Its success meant that in his lifetime (he died in 1996 aged 83) Derksen was able to see the vast fortune generated by the business invested in aid. The UK operation alone is now worth around £2bn.
Leisure is a new industry that’s finding its feet in the world and earning recognition and respect. It’s great to see the people driving the sector making such meaningful, innovative contributions through their energy and passion.
Liz Terry, editor @elizterry
