I was just reading the "News" section...

and in the story about Great Wolf, it points out that the GM is Dick Kinzel's son. I didn't know that.

What an interesting tale it could be as to how the heck THAT happened! Why didn't he end up with Cedar Fair?

MrScott

Here's a Register article from 2/20/05:

Like father, like son

By TOM JACKSON
tomjackson@sanduskyregister.com

The Kinzel family will make an even bigger splash in Erie County's economically-vital tourism business.

Cedar Fair CEO Dick Kinzel is a well-known community figure. Cedar Fair's waterpark, Castaway Way, was a bright spot in the company's financial performance last year.

Castaway Bay competes with Erie County's first indoor waterpark, Great Wolf Lodge. The new boss at Great Wolf is Dick Kinzel's son, 33-year-old Derrek Kinzel, who became Great Wolf's general manager at the end of January.

"He's done great carrying on the family tradition," Dick Kinzel says. "I'm really proud of him."

Derrek Kinzel says his father didn't put any pressure on him to stay in the family business.

"He's been open-minded in whatever direction his children wanted to go," the younger Kinzel said.

As a teenager, Derrek Kinzel worked in Cedar Point's Hotel Breakers.

"That was my summer job in high school and college," he said.

And when he went to The Ohio State University, Derrek Kinzel chose to major in hospitality management. He said he wasn't a top student, but adds, "I was very good in my hotel classes."

After graduating from OSU, Kinzel worked in the hotel industry in various locations before returning to the Firelands to work at Great Wolf in April 2001, one month after it opened. Kinzel reported to the general manager Jeff Lococo, who has now been promoted to vice president of resort operations for Great Lakes Companies, Great Wolf's parent company.

Lococo did a great job of establishing Great Wolf, Derrek Kinzel said.

"My job right now is to keep it going," he said.

Derrek Kinzel downplays the notion he's competing against his father's waterpark.

"We've had our standards we've implemented since day one," he said. "We don't spend any time worrying about Castaway Bay."

Great Wolf continues to add new attractions in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. It added a rock-climbing wall last year and followed that by adding body slides, long tunnels that guests can slide down.

Derrek Kinzel says his dad set an example for him, both in the way he does business and in the way he behaves with his family.

When Derrek was growing up and playing in a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball and tennis, his busy father always showed up to watch.

"He never missed a game when I was growing up," he said.

When Derrek Kinzel graduated from The Ohio State University and began building a career of his own, he realized how difficult it can be to get away from the office and how much effort it must have taken for his father to always come to the games.

"The secret of it is, you have to put our kids on your calendar," Dick Kinzel comments, adding that he often returned to work when the games were over.

Dick Kinzel apparently still pays close attention to his children. The Sandusky Register learned about Derrek Kinzel's promotion when Dick Kinzel bragged about it to a reporter. When a reporter called the elder Kinzel at his Sandusky office and asked for comment about the promotion, the CEO promptly returned the call -- from Florida, where he'd gone on a business trip.

Dick Kinzel made the news recently after his comments were included in a book, "Trump: The Way to the Top," which collected advice from various business leaders.

Derrek Kinzel has a copy of the book in his office to show visitors, but when he's asked about business advice from his father, he says that Dick Kinzel's actions make a bigger impression than what he says.

"The best advice he's ever given me, I've received it through paying attention to him," he said.

"He has a vision of what he wants to do. He doesn't do it until he knows the company is ready," he said. "He builds the biggest roller coasters in the world. People can't match them."

Dick Kinzel said he and his wife, Judy, have tried to teach values to their children, including a strong work ethic and "love of church, family and country."

"Family values were really important to me and Judy," he said.

Derrek Kinzel and his wife, Kelcey, have a 2-year-old daughter named Alyson.

A photo in Derrek Kinzel's office proves that his small daughter already is riding on roller coasters.

"She loves it," Derrek Kinzel said. "It's in her blood."

Families staying at Great Wolf remind Derrek Kinzel of the vacations the Kinzels took.

"We had family vacations every year. We would never miss it," he said.

A stroll through Great Wolf illustrates how it and Castaway Bay and the new Kalahari waterpark, scheduled to open in late May, contribute to Erie County's economy.

Great Wolf has 271 rooms that can sleep four to eight people per room. Derrek Kinzel would not give occupancy rates for Great Wolf or say that the hotel's occupancy was in 2004, but said it has from 1,000 to 3,000 people at any given time.

A reporter who visited Great Wolf on Monday morning had trouble finding a parking space, and Derrek Kinzel acknowledged that occupancy tends to outpace industry standards for hotels.

"It's busy year-round, it truly is," he said.

"With us and with Kalahari, Castaway Bay, it's wonderful for Erie County," Derrek Kinzel said. "It's just going to turn into more of a winter destination."

As Erie County's reputation for family entertainment grows, the waterparks help each other as well as competing against each other, Derrek Kinzel said.

"The more successful they are, the more successful we are," he said.

Great Wolf employs about 300 people. The service they provide has fueled Great Wolf's success by producing good word of mouth that inspires other families to pay a visit, Derrek Kinzel said.

"That's why our focus on service is so high. We understand there's other places for families to go," he said.

He said he looks for family-oriented people when he hires employees.

"You've got to love families. You've got to love kids. You've got to love the family environment."

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

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Iteresting! Thanks for posting that, Walt.

MrScott

You have to remember that the amusement business is a very incestuous one. Most top-tier attractions don't really compete with one another in the traditional cut-throat sense. The principals all know each other, have all worked for each other, and quite often, are all related to one another. :)

Incidentally, the other name mentioned in the report...Jeff Lococo...ran parks for FunTime (Geauga Lake and Wyandot Lake) for many years, and he may also have once worked for Cedar Point. His family name (I think it may specifically be his Dad, but I am not sure) is posted above the entrance to the Villain at Geauga Lake.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Jeff Lococo's father Gaspar worked for George Roose and Emil Legross in the beginning. After few years he went out on his own to found what would become Funtime.

Maybe dad will teach son a lesson when he puts him out of business next year. Ouch!

Maybe dad will buy out son's company and make him a millionaire. Thanks, dad!

I doubt Great Wolf and Castaway Bay will co-exist for more than 5 years. It will be interesting to see who the "winners" are in the end.