Mike Campol, the former general manager of Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa in Osoyoos, says he’s looking forward to continuing his career and hopes he and his family will remain in the Okanagan Valley. (Photo supplied)
When one door closes, many others open, says the man who managed one of Osoyoos’ most popular resorts and became the face of establishing the Desert Live Music Festival in our community.
Management with Bellstar Hotels and Resorts, which operates Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa in Osoyoos, decided two weeks ago to relieve general manager Mike Campol of his duties.
Patti Smith, chief operating officer with Bellstar, and Campol, agreed they shared a different vision for the long-term future of the resort.
Since taking a position as food and beverage manager at Spirit Ridge in June of 2011, Campol became heavily involved in the community and helped establish Spirit of the Game, a local non-profit organization dedicated to raising money to allow children from less fortunate families to participate in minor sports.
Campol was also the chair of the organizing committee for the inaugural Desert Live Music Festival, a four-day event that took place in late June in downtown Osoyoos.
Campol was also an active member of the Destination Osoyoos board of directors.
Campol said the timing of the decision by Bellstar management was the only thing that surprised him.
“The timing was a complete surprise … but I did feel we had two different visions of where Spirit Ridge should be heading and those visions were not aligned with what Spirit Ridge management viewed in the future,” said Campol.
Smith shared the same view.
“This all came down to a business decision,” she said. “It was a very tough decision and was not made without a lot of thought and consideration.
“We like Mike Campol very much. We feel his strongest asset was his investment in the community and getting people to Osoyoos to see everything we had to offer here at Spirit Ridge.”
After owning and operating his own live music venue in Ontario for several years, Bellstar hired Campol as a food and beverage consultant in June of 2011.
He was quickly promoted to operations manager and hired as general manager in November of 2011.
Campol said “at no time have I been upset” about losing his job “as I felt a parting of the ways was inevitable. As I said before, the only thing that surprised me was the timing” suggesting he felt the decision would be made after the busy tourist season ended.
Campol said he’s “going to take a couple of weeks to re-evaluate my future” and then go job searching.
“I’m not one to sit around … I want to get back out there as quickly as possible,” he said.
His immediate goal is to find employment in the Okanagan Valley as he, his wife and two young children love living in this area, he said.
“I don’t know what will happen, but I do know my family doesn’t want to leave the Okanagan,” he said.
He acknowledge he and his family might have to leave Osoyoos, however, as he seeks out the next step in his career.
He has “no doubt whatsoever” that Spirit of the Game and the Desert Live Music Festival can carry on and be successful if he has to leave Osoyoos, said Campol.
“We’ve got some incredible people in this community involved in both of these ventures,” he said. “There’s great community and stakeholder involvement in both and I have no doubt they will both continue to have an impact if I’m not involved.
“Selfishly, I would love to stay involved as I share a passion for live music and this festival and Spirit of the Game, but I have all the faith in the world that both will move forward and will continue to do well if I do have to leave.”
Campol said he loved working at Spirit Ridge for three years and now looks forward to finding another job he will enjoy just as much.
Smith said the search to replace Campol as general manager has already started, while Bellstar’s western regional manager, Arthur Wong, has temporarily taken over as interim manager until a replacement is hired.
Any suggestion that relieving Campol of his duties is related to Spirit Ridge struggling financially is simply inaccurate, said Smith.
“We will do well over $1 million in room revenue in August and we’re having an exceptionally good summer, so there’s nothing wrong with Spirit Ridge financially,” she said. “Our goal remains to return Spirit Ridge back to the top resort in the South Okanagan and we’re confident that’s something we will attain in the near future.”
The rest of the senior management team at Spirit Ridge remains intact, all of them have been on the job for several years and are very committed to making a visit to the resort one of the best in the province, she said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
