JANUARY- F E B R UARY 2 0 1 5 23 ▲ don shindLE Hospitality career from pro ball drew dickson SUP dude mixes water with wine F or over a century Drew Dickson’s family has been serious about water in all its forms. Grandfather Glen Dickson skied Whistler in the days before chairlifts; Drew’s father, Dave, surfed Dana Point on balsawood boards; and Drew and his brother were the only dudes from St. Helena snowboarding in 1986. In 2012, living in Oakland with wife, Deanna, and making wine for Andrew Lane Wines, the label started by his father, his daughter Addie was born. Just months later, Drew was struck by the death of his father closely followed by the death of his Deanna. Still reeling from these losses, Drew noticed Addie’s joy playing in the water while visiting the Oakland Zoo and he realized he needed to get back to the water, too. They moved to Napa where he started the business to which they seemed born, Napa Valley Paddle (NVP), a standup paddleboard rental and tour company. Recently Drew was named to the Board of Friends of the Napa River, and he continues to honor the legacy and pioneering work of father, who aligned 26 government agencies with private sector partners to create the flood district for Napa County. Drew’s explorations of Napa viticulture over the past decade have yielded his label’s most prized wines to date, and in 2015 NVP’s SIP/ SUP tours will wed water and wine to highlight the Dickson family’s history in the Valley from its Bohemian-styled tasting room (complete with outdoor showers and a hot tub for day-trippers) in downtown Napa. –Matt Markovich When asked what led Don Shindle on a path that currently includes general manager of what is probably Napa’s highest—and hotel and a resume touting him as one of the Westin chain’s hotel opening specialists—he immediately points to his first job as a dishwasher in Thunder Bay, Canada. It was in that humble beginning, and since, that he realized that being driven to high-level customer service is because of a “genetic predisposition to serve others.” With this in his DNA, as well as coaching forays into professional football, he drives the Westin Verasa team to reexamine on a constant basis how customer service can be improved. This axiom he works by seems to have been the guiding force behind motivating his team through the aftermath of the earthquake. Post-earthquake, the Westin was essentially a shell, but that intriguing genetic predisposition reared its head, and the Verasa quickly became a model of how to rebound from disaster and keep its customers happy in the process. And if there is any question about his ability to lead a team, he is always more than happy to show you his Grey Cup (a.k.a. Canada’s Superbowl) ring. –Dave Robertson
NVLife_JanFeb_2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above