The word is “MORE”

A Visit with New Activities Director Rose

By Dale Dauten

“I had too much fun was no one’s last regret ever.”

Jonathan Heatt

One of the things we often hear about The Resort is “you can be as busy as you want to be.” And new Activities Director Rose Hilgedick wants residents to have even more chances to be even busier. She told us, “More is the biggest word – more of what we’ve had and more new choices, more variety, more fun, more to do. I want this to be the busiest season ever.”

What will that look like? Rose described her first task after accepting the new role as AD: “I started picking brains – I was asking everyone, What would you like to see in the park? I came into the job with optimism: There’s going to be something for everyone.” Rose then lit up as she listed the new acts she has signed for entertainment events and describing the expanded schedule for dances. As for the latter, she tells us that she’s working on a wider variety of music, part of her “something for everyone” theme.

That’s Rose in the Activities Office in the photo above, looking quite different from when we wrote about her in February of 2023: below, that’s her on the right, alongside Lena Heise in The Resort’s kitchen. She’s left that job behind in order to become AD, but points out that as Lena carries on with her role, “One of the things I can do in my new job is to help coordinate better with the kitchen for upcoming events.”

We wrote a bit about Rose’s background in that article, but here’s a bit fuller bio, along with photos:

Rose grew up on a family farm in Elmo, Missouri, one of nine kids. Given that Elmo had a population around 150, it’s not surprising that she rode a bus to high school in Burlington Junction, population over 500.

After high school, Rose took a job at a coal company and invited Wayne, the man who she would marry, to join her at a company Christmas dance. He ended up going to work for the same company, and that work eventually took the couple to Flagstaff. Rose went to NAU and earned a degree in Accounting and Business Management, going to work for an oil and gas distributor.

The couple spent 24 years in Flagstaff, plus time in Durango and Albuquerque. But after the kids were grown, they started exploring in their RV.

“We came across The Resort,” Rose explained, “and we came back year after year. When Wayne died, I bought a place. That was three years ago, so it’s pushing ten years I’ve been involved with The Resort. I’ve made so many friends here – it’s a great place to end up.”

TICKET ORDER FORM and SEATING CHART –

Click on the forms below to download a version you can print out. Rose tells us that the returned forms will be opened based on the date of the postmark and they’ll assign you to the best seats available. (If you have a seating preference, please mark it on the order form or the seating chart and the folks in Activities will do their best.)