Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Oxborough.
Hi Abby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My family bought and built Sugar Lake Lodge in 1990. We opened in the Spring of 1993, at which point I was a scrappy little frizzy-haired 6 year old. I followed my dad around during the entire building process – asking questions and giving high-quality suggestions like building a tree fort in the middle of the golf course and naming the restaurant “The Restaurant.” To no one’s surprise, he thanked me for my input, and (rightfully) continued down the path of building a stunning Par-71 championship golf course (sans tree fort), a brand new main lodge, renovated lodging units and a restaurant named Otis’s that has been serving fan-favorite Chicken Chipotle Sandwiches to this day. Sugar Lake Lodge started as a “quality focused” resort – where hidden fees were never an option. My dad grew up in hospitality, as we are part of the Ruttger family who have owned and operated Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge for over 150 years. I was fortunate enough to be raised in an environment where passion means treating people well, going above and beyond is the norm, and nature is inherently the focus of everything we offer. My husband and I met in college and spent over six years traveling and living out of backpacks before we returned to Northern Minnesota to run the resort. Along the way, we experienced hospitality in every form – from friends to family to hostels to fancy hotels – we found ourselves surrounded by the best (and ultimately the worst) in hospitality and we were driven to bring our experiences home to where I grew up. Since returning, we’ve made it our mission to cultivate a real experience for visitors to Sugar Lake Lodge. Our mission is to meet everyone who comes to us with the energy of a longtime friend. We value connection, authenticity, and above all else, enjoyment. We’re helping build high-performing teams through custom organizational retreats, we’re encouraging people to gather for friends weekends, family getaways, reunions, and celebrations. We love our community and we love our guests and it is our desire to know each and every one of them on a first-name basis (a lost art, if you ask me…)
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. Two years into our return to take over the resort, Covid hit, and we lost all of our corporate/company retreat business. This arm of our business accounts for about 60% of our revenue. A longstanding monthly leadership retreat, which has been our mainstay in the offseason for over 20 years, was forced to cut the program, leaving us dumbfounded and truly at the brink of moving to possible closure or sale. Like everybody else in the world, our plans for any upgrades or new features or even just maintaining what we currently had was stuck in limbo until we could figure out how to navigate the pandemic in a space where gathering was the key focus. While the pandemic forced us to change a lot of how we operate, we were so fortunate in how it brought to light what we are really known for and good at – and that is solitude. Our property boasts 107 sleeping rooms, and when we are sold out, we can hold about 500 people. What we found is that even with every bed accounted for, our property still feels small and intimate. It is both quiet and exuberant at the same time. The pristine lakefront served as a haven for families and small groups who wanted to get away from the cluttered city centers and large-scale destinations and really feel like they had space to breathe. We really leaned into this time of “social distancing” and doubled down on spaces around the property that could feel like you were safe and secure in nature. We found our niche group of guests and staff members and since then we have really thrived in our little community. Our retreats business has since returned and we are on the path to curating what we’re referring to as The Leadership Lodge – an outcomes-based destination for companies and organizations of all kinds to step outside the office to connect, inspire, and gain valuable experiences as a team.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
A good friend and mentor of mine sent me this quote by Robert Heinlein when I was mid-college trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a career:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
I think about this concept constantly. I am most proud of the fact that I was raised this way. Growing up at a resort meant being as multi-faceted as possible – one minute you’re washing dishes and the next you’re driving a family around the lake in the pontoon. I so value the ability to be resourceful and constantly learning.
This mindset has paved my life path in the best way possible. I spent my college summers working as a camp counselor, where I was able to put this multi-faceted skills expertise to incredible use. Camp taught me to be independent and fearless in my pursuit of learning and teaching new things. After college, I entered the corporate world focusing on Marketing – I hated it. I hated the rigidity and the hoops that were expected of me with very little reward or gratitude. So I did what any good Millennial would do – I quit my job and moved to Thailand to teach English.
I spent six years living out of a backpack and traveling country to country doing and experiencing as many things as I possibly could. I found security and satisfaction in teaching English, teaching swimming lessons, building homes, learning to cook, volunteering, writing, driving, scuba diving and teaching yoga. My skillset expanded so broadly that I felt like I was finally leaning into what I really valued and that was being versatile. All of this led to our return to Minnesota, where I enrolled in Graduate School to get my Masters in Experiential Education and Leadership Development. I discovered a world where experiential learning was embraced and ultimately needed – from team building to organizational development to leadership training.
In summation, this quote is really what I have become known for. I have dedicated so much of my life to being resourceful and I am most of proud of that – I think with being knowledgable in different areas comes a certain sense of being accountable and relied on. I love that feeling and I hope to continue to serve others in this way through the welcoming and curious environment that is Sugar Lake Lodge and The Leadership Lodge.
What matters most to you? Why?
Connection.
It enhances everything. The opportunity to connect with other humans, nature, and even ourselves is something that makes our lives more valuable, rich, and engaging.
Pricing:
- Nightly rates at Sugar Lake Lodge range from $199 – $589
- Customized programming and facilitation for organizational retreats start at $1500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sugarlakelodge.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/SugarLakeLodge
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/SugarLakeLodge
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbyox
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/SugarLakeLodge
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sugar-lake-lodge
