Vista Recreation: The Outdoors. Done Right.
Our name is a tribute to the beautiful public lands on which we operate, and to the opportunities we see for shaping new frontiers in public recreation in the 21st century.
Vista Recreation's roots are in the private operation of public recreation areas. Over several decades, our Company has evolved into a total solutions provider for recreation lands by partnering with multiple public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels under long-term concession agreements.
Executive Management
Warren Meyer
President & CEO
Warren Meyer has been the President and Owner of Vista Recreation (formerly Recreation Resource Management) since 2003 and is actively engaged in all aspects of the company’s daily operations. He is an executive of the National Forest Recreation Association and on the board of the California State Parks Hospitality Association.
Before acquiring RRM in 2003, Warren ran a series of technology companies in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to that, Warren ran marketing and sales for a number of companies, including the aerospace divisions of Honeywell and Allied Signal, and the instrumentation divisions of Emerson Electric. He also spent five years as a consultant for McKinsey and Company, and began his career as an engineer at Exxon. Warren earned a BSE in mechanical engineering, graduating magna cum laude, at Princeton University, and also an MBA with high distinction from the Harvard Business School.
Kate Groves
Vice President
Kate Groves focuses much of her time on the Company's Management Development Program. Vista has a proud history of promoting entirely from within, which means that every one of our managers and even our VP of Operations Excellence began as Camp Hosts.
Kate has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Psychology from Vassar College. Much of her career is in marketing, but she became interested in management development when she was asked to run a program at PepsiCo to get more women promoted into management.
Additionally, Kate is responsible for generating new marketing and public relations programs, managing employee recognition, and coordinating administrative activities.
Bill Richtfort
Chief Financial Officer
Bill brings over 25 years of experience in accounting, FP&A, corporate finance, strategy, procurement, and operations. He is responsible for all aspects of the finance function, including accounting and controls, financial reporting, analysis, planning and forecasting, treasury, credit and collections, regulatory compliance, insurance, and tax.
Most recently, Bill was the SVP, Finance & Accounting for SALT Dental Collective, a high growth DSO, which operates approximately 100 dental offices across 13 states and was responsible for the accounting and procurement functions. Prior to SALT, he held a variety of strategy and finance positions with private equity backed organizations in the restaurant and retail space. Bill earned an MBA from Loyola University Chicago and a BSB in Finance from Eastern Illinois University.
Elizabeth Hale
Human Resources Director
Beth Hale oversees Vista Recreation's HR Department, which includes the following positions: Employee Relations, Compensation and Benefits Coordinator, and HR Generalists. She has over 20 years of human resource and risk management experience, which includes leading employee relations for a multi-state grocery chain with 18,000 employees and 170 stores.
Beth is responsible for employee relations, training, compliance, and management of our safety program. She has overhauled the Company's hiring, onboarding, payroll, training, and employee relations processes by implementing a modern, integrated cloud-based system. Beth drives compliant and consistent practices in all employment-related areas, including hiring, background screening, onboarding, talent management, and separations of employment. She also ensures Vista Recreation is current with existing, new, and changing employment regulations and requirements at the local, state, and federal level. In her free time, Beth loves spending time in the outdoors and camping.
Doreen Clark
Director of Operations Excellence
Dori Clark serves as our Director of Operations Excellence. She is a skilled administrator with many years camp hosting and almost two decades managing permits and contracts for Vista Recreation. Along with her husband, Jerry, they have over four decades of management, maintenance, security, and safety experience.
Before becoming Director of Operations Excellence, Jerry and Dori also served as Operations Managers for Vista Recreation on the Coronado National Forest, in the Coconino National Forest, the Ocala National Forest, and at a very large campground and marina complex with the United Water Conservation District in Ventura County. Dori supports the COO and Regional Operations Directors in all operating aspects, including compliance and safety.
Who We Serve
Commitment to Our Partners
Fundamentally grounded in service and dedication, Vista Recreation delivers on what we promise.
We are committed to providing a level of care that honors public land resources, and keeping public lands relevant to rapidly changing demographics.
We commit to providing transparency in all operations, reliability and accessibility of our people, and consistency in our services at all of the locations at which we manage.
Commitment to Our Guests
From the towering mountain ranges in California, to the serene views in Tennessee, Vista Recreation guarantees to make your visit a memorable one.
We commit that all of our facilities are not only kept up to high standards, but rather set the standard. Each location we operate is given the same attention and dedication as the next--that is why one good experience with one of our parks is guaranteed at another.
Commitment to Our Employees
We believe in empowering our people to do what's right and emphasize the importance of an excellent guest experience.
We commit to treating every employee as a valuable member of this family-owned business.
We commit to providing consistency in messaging, building appropriate processes and procedures, and continously seeking new resource improvements to make the jobs of our employees the best it can be.
Vision Statement:
Dedicated to providing safe and unique outdoor experiences by fostering and promoting sustainable outdoor recreation destinations.
Our Locations
Partnerships
Business Development
Vista Recreation offers many types of partnerships, not just a singular business model. We accept whatever recreation mission or preservation mission the public owner sets, and in return, manage the facility to that mission. We want to work with your agency to find out your goals and needs in order to provide the right level of service.
Our Business Development Team, led by Jeff Brown, oversees the Company's development process by actively sourcing new contracts and action plans. Jeff has extensive leadership experience in sales and marketing, traveling between California and Hawaii to contribute over 24 years of expertise to the hospitality and tourism industry. Our team is focused on partner relations, what drives guest satisfaction, and alternative lodging concepts.
General information about our Company's services is listed in Our Government Services tab (above), but we are happy to go into further detail and explanation if you contact us directly. A member from our Business Development Team will reach out to schedule a conversation. From there, we would love to visit your site and meet with your staff to gather a full evaluation.
We look forward to finding the right solutions for your public facility!
Social Media
At Vista Recreation, we value the engagement we receive from our social media followers and find it an essential piece to our operations. Each of our assigned Operations Managers are responsible for managing their specific social media account with support from our Marketing Team. These social pages are designed for visitors to share feedback, tips, reviews, and experiences in our permit or contract areas, and to give more immediate feedback on needs and issues to our local managers.
Our Marketing Team, led by Amanda Scott, develops and executes strategic digital initiatives, analyzes social media trends and their impact on the company brand, and tracks and drives the company’s online reputation.
In our effort to facilitate relevancy to our markets, Vista Recreation partners with Social Media Influencers who provide value to our Company, the Influencer, and most importantly, the end-user--our Guests. Influencers who have followers interested in RVing, Anglers, Hunting, Outdoor Travel, Cabin or Glamping Stays, or other relevant topics, are our best partners. By selecting the button below, you will be directed to a member in our Marketing Team.
Black Folks Camp Too
While some companies may say good things about respecting human differences, diversity has literally been Vista Recreation’s engine of growth over the last several years. Camping and outdoor recreation visitation has skyrocketed, and most of this new visitation has come from new ethnicities, new age groups, and new demographics. Vista sees it as our duty to make every guest feel comfortable and welcomed when staying at our facilities, whether that is providing signage in native languages or focusing our hiring on individuals who speak multiple dialects—we keep inclusiveness at the forefront of everything we do.
Earl Hunter, founder of Black Folks Camp Too, summarizes the benefits of these efforts very effectively with his motto: “R.O.I. also means return on inclusion”.
At the center of the Black Folks Camp Too training and marketing program is the Unity Blaze logo. The distinctive campfire blaze embodies a “Treat Everyone, Everywhere, Equally” culture for the outdoors. Race, age, gender, and abilities do not matter; and we all have something to say around the campfire. All Vista Recreation locations that have successfully completed the Black Folks Camp Too training proudly display the Unity Blaze Flag and pins on uniforms.
