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9 GEORGIANVIEW 2021 SPRING
ALUMNI MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The Dakota Dunes Resort near Saskatoon was going
to be an impressive resort, there was no doubt. But,
in September 2020, in the midst of constructing the
seven-level, 155-room hotel, General Manager Gary
Farstad was told he had to pick an opening date for the
following month.
Opening is not the easiest task when a hotel is far from
complete, but this was also six months into COVID-19
and the only thing certain was uncertainty.
"I told my whole team, we're going to be open on Oct. 8
with confidence, but inside I had that little bit of doubt,"
Gary says with a chuckle. "My team had no idea I had
any doubts."
How could he not have doubts? Getting products from
across Canada and the United States through lockdowns
and factory shutdowns wasn't easy.
But, Gary spent his entire career getting ready for this
challenge. He was involved in resorts even before he
graduated from Georgian College's Hotel and Resort
Operations Management program in 2006, when a
co-op placement led to a job at Deerhurst Resort while
he finished his studies.
For the next seven years, he continued to build up his
resumé, including opening a restaurant in the Cayman
Islands. In 2015, he was hired by Atlific Hotels as
the Director of Operations at the Lake Louise Inn, a
notoriously challenging resort to manage.
When he returned to Ontario in 2018, Atlific Hotels
asked him to go to TownePlace Suites by Marriott in
Sudbury, where, as general manager, he and his team
won an award in 2019 for Revenue Performance Team of
the Year.
All of these accomplishments caught the eye of the
leadership team at Atlific and Sr. Vice President Philippe
Gadbois asked Gary to check out the Dakota Dunes
Resort project on Indigenous land near Saskatoon in
October 2019. They had been working with Chief Darcy
Bear and his community for 10 years on the project and
they needed someone to take it to completion.
"The goal was to take some of the knowledge that I had
acquired at other hotels and recruit a leadership team
who could train the local community," recalls Gary.
"I think this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
be involved with the community, to be able to open
something like this. I don't think I'll ever open another
hotel that will be this special."
BUILDING SUCCESS DURING THE PANDEMIC
Gary Farstad, class of 2006
Gary Farstad with Janella Hamilton of CTV
Saskatoon doing a 'staycation' special at
Dakota Dunes Resort for Valentine's Day 2021.
Photo credit: Ingrid Misner
Photo credit: Ingrid Misner
