Ever since Camp Jellystone President Rob Schutter hired Jon Burek as the company’s executive vice president in early 2020, Burek has been working very closely with Jellystone Park operators across the U.S. and Canada.
“Rob asked me to lead our efforts and our response to COVID,” said Burek, 49. “I set up weekly Zoom meetings with all of our franchisees. I helped us navigate those challenges.”
Managing Camp Jellystone’s response to the pandemic was Burek’s trial by fire — and his first experience working in the campground industry. But he had more than two decades of experience leading teams in his senior management roles in other industries.
Burek spent most of his previous career working for aviation companies, holding multiple positions overseeing a variety of flight operations responsibilities. Then Burek accepted a new opportunity as vice president of Mike’s Car Wash, a Midwestern chain of car washes. Soon after, Burek joined Camp Jellystone’s executive team.
After helping Jellystone Park franchisees navigate the pandemic, Burek’s primary responsibilities have included overseeing franchise operations, the franchise sales team, and education for franchisees through Camp Jellystone’s annual Certification and Management Program (CAMP), which covers every aspect of park operations, as well as its Caring about Recreation and Entertainment (CARE) training program.
When he becomes Camp Jellystone’s president upon Schutter’s retirement on April 3, Burek will take on an even greater role that includes overseeing Camp Jellystone’s marketing and retail teams in addition to the company’s financial responsibilities. (Woodall’s Campground Magazine (WCM) published an article last week on the upcoming retirement of Rob Schutter. You can read that article here.)
“I’m excited to take over,” Burek said. “This has been an exciting journey.”
Burek says he’s been blessed with a talented team, and noted that Lisa Courtney, Camp Jellystone’s director of franchise operations, will become the company’s vice president of operations when he moves into the president’s job.
Burek also noted that he has helped Camp Jellystone navigate numerous changes in recent years. “It started with navigating COVID,” he noted. “We then relocated our offices (from Milford, Ohio) to Southfield, Mich., after being acquired by Sun. We then decided in 2022 to outsource our warehouse business for our retail merchandise line.”
Burek said he has helped build an experienced and talented franchise management team, many of whom have years of experience directly managing Jellystone Park locations. These team members are located across the United States, so they can easily travel to meet with Jellystone Park operators when needed.
While he no longer has set weekly calls with all franchisees, as he did during the pandemic, Burek and his team continue to make regular calls with franchisees, with the emphasis now on education.
“Our focus is continuing to elevate support for franchisees,” he said. “We’ve invested in systems that take our in-person content and make it available to team members at all locations. A lot of our locations hire seasonal employees in the spring. Our programs allow them to deliver a better guest experience at the parks. We’re always focused on innovation.”
Camp Jellystone is also investing more resources into franchise operator education in recreation programs and theming.
“We’ve revamped our brand standards over the past few years,” Burek noted. “We’ve put more emphasis on making sure our locations have more experiences.”
Burek said Camp Jellystone’s immediate challenge is increasing stays by transient RVers. “We’re having a lot of discussions about what we do and how we do it,” he said.
Burek is also very conscious of Jellystone Park’s sweet spot in the campground business. “It’s about families creating memories. That’s why we do this,” he said.
