b'The Bellefonte/State College KOA Holiday was named KOAs Park of the Year.Oscar Tang Proud of KOAs Growthinto all that it can be as an independent Oscar Tang, the owner of KOA sinceenterprise. In that context, the past 60 1980, when he acquired it and made it ayears provides the foundation for excit-private company, also spoke during theing future growth. Indeed, we are just Opening General Session at KOAs con- getting started. vention. KOA Hands Out Awards, TangwasrecentlynamedtotheHonors Longtime Partners Bloomberg Billionaires Index and wasKOA handed out its Presidents and featured by Bloomberg in an article atFoundersAwardsduringabreakfast the end of October. ceremony. Each year KOA gathers guest During his speech, Tang spoke aboutsurveys from more than a quarter mil-how he was very proud of the servicelion KOA campers following their camp-that KOA provides.ground stays. That vital guest feedback, This is a very wholesome business,paired with the results of an annual in-he explained. We provide opportuni- spection process, qualifies KOA camp-ties for families to travel this great coun- grounds across the U.S. and Canada for try and connect with other people.a set of awardsthe Founders Award Tang highlighted some key factorsand the Presidents Award. that KOA must keep in focus as it con- Hundreds of parks were honored this tinues to grow, including the impor- year.tance of remaining a customer-orientedThe Rising Star and Campground of enterprise.the Year were recognized during a sep-A corollary of this is that KOA mustarate lunch ceremony.serve the needs of its franchisees to helpTheBellefonte/StateCollegeKOA ensure that they are successful, he ex- Holiday was honored as KOAs Camp-plained. This, in turn, will make sureground of the Year. thattheentirecompanyremainsTheCoshoctonKOAHolidaywas strong.presentedwiththe2022RisingStar Tang also noted that KOA needs toAward. maintain a long-term focus.KOA also honored two individuals We must focus on doing the rightwiththeDarrellBoothLifetime thingseachyearforthelong-termAchievement Award: Ted Bell, the patri-health of our campgrounds and the sys- arch of Kampground Enterprise Inc., tem as a whole, he said. Most of youand Al Johnson, executive vice presi-will own your campgrounds for a longdent of Recreational Adventures Co. time, in many cases, over several gener- TheawardisthehighestthatKOA ations. The power of compound growthhands out.is the frame of long-term businesses. APopular Networking Events few percentage points in camper nightAlong with hosting educational ses-growth in a single year may not seemsions and providing key updates from very exciting, but if you can do this an- company officials, KOA also hosted a nually over 10 years or more, the valueFirst-Timers and Welcome event at Uni-created becomes extraordinary.versalCity Walkthatattractedhun-Tang wrapped up his speech by not- dreds of attendees.ing why he was attracted to KOA in theAttendees of the event were able to first place.takeinfourdifferententertainment From the beginning, it was the char- venues including a piano bar, a reggae acterofthepeople,theexceptionalclub, a live band and karaoke and the quality of professionals at KOA and per- CoconutClub.Laterintheevening, haps, most importantly, the integrity ofKOAhostedanafter-hourseventat those that have built KOA, Tang said. IMarvel Superhero Island where atten-feel privileged to oversee the continu- dees were able to have exclusive access ance of this culture and today we haveto a few rides. the best team ever. We should alwaysTheKOAOwnersAssociationalso conductouraffairsaccordingtotheheld a special event at Dezerland, which highest standards of business practiceswas well attended and gave participants and integrity.a chance to network, enjoy food and My gain cannot be your loss. Wedrinks, go-kart, bowl, view classic cars must prosper together, he added. Letand more.me conclude with how much pleasureKOA wrapped up its conference with and pride it gives me to be associatedthe annual Care Camps Auction that with KOA. My goal, which I share withsupports Care Camps, a charity dedi-my family, is to shepherd this companycated to sending kids with cancer, and and the KOA system. To work with Tobytheirfamilies,tospecialoncology and her team and all of you to build itcamps across North America. WCMWOODALLSCM.comJanuary 2023 27'