After 26 years as president and CEO of Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, Georgiana Clark announced last week that she is retiring as chief executive, ceding the title to her daughter.
Georgiana Clark — who has been involved in running the park since 1966, when she moved to California from her native Hawaii and married Roaring Camp’s founder, Norman Clark — had served as CEO since her husband’s death in 1985.
“I felt like it was time to make changes in the company’s leadership,” Georgiana Clark said, adding that the company needed a leader who was more familiar with the expanding role of technology in the tourism industry.
“The company’s growing,” she said. “There’s new ideas, new ways to run businesses — especially with the computer — and that’s really not my time.”
She will retain her title as company president for now, she said, with her daughter, Melani Clark, assuming the role of chief executive.
Though Melani Clark had been preparing for some time to take over the reins one day, her promotion to CEO was a surprise, she said.
“The way she told me was announcing it at the board meeting,” Melani Clark said. “And everyone was sitting there looking at me, like, ‘Wow, that’s great, Melani, how do you feel?’ And I said, ‘I just found out, literally.’”
Melani Clark, whom her mother described as having a knack for reading the fine print, grew up in and around Roaring Camp. She has handled official contracts and administrative duties, sold tickets, worked in food service and even served as fireman on the steam locomotives.
“She’s learned (the business) from the ground up, come much closer to the actual engineering of the business,” Georgiana Clark said. “So I think the company will be in very good hands.”
Georgiana Clark described her tenure as CEO as a lesson in taking life’s challenges one day at a time.
“I think that if I had had any inkling of what all was really involved in keeping the ship afloat, I probably would’ve packed my bag and headed back to Kona,” she said with a laugh. “Luckily for me, I have had the gift of people that have come to help.”
During Georgiana Clark’s 26 years in charge, Roaring Camp has grown significantly, adding the Bret Harte Hall, expanding the number of active steam engines and continuing the development of the Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railway trains to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz.
As CEO, Melani Clark said her immediate goal is to keep Roaring Camp operating even as families are seeing their disposable incomes shrink.
“That’s the focus right now — keeping the ship afloat,” she said.
Once the economy is more stable, she said, Roaring Camp will look toward expansion: new buildings, new events and new attractions.
“We tend to add as many new special events as we can,” she said. “We’re always looking for things like that — train-related, history-related, or small kids-related.”
Melani Clark said the tourism industry makes the majority of its revenue in 120 days – usually the summer months. The trick to being successful, she said, is learning how to create revenue during the rest of the year.
“We’re always looking for what’s the next thing,” she said. “The same old thing doesn’t always work.”
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