A Message From Anne.

I was asked to write my bio so that I could put it on our new Willow Stream Magazine and Facebook. I was having a tough time writing it so I started to think about what is important to me to say about myself.

So I wrote myself something that I would like to be quoted on:

A life with laughter and love is the only thing that is important – except for breakfast.

Maybe that’s my bio. I grew up in a family where love was never in question. My father not only loves but also adores his kids; it’s in his eyes. My mom is the funniest. My friends still laugh and remind me of things my mom did or said and she can still make her grandsons belly laugh like children (and they now have kids of their own).

My husband and friends widened this love and laughter circle and it touches everything I do. It’s how I get my own abundant energy – that and breakfast. (I’m not kidding about the breakfast). For me it is a symbol of taking care of myself and remembering that food, water and rest are the very basics of healthy energy. I learned that many years ago from Sandra Harding – my first wellness coach.

Every time I find myself in a bad mood (and it does happen), I realize that it is from one of three things: not taking care of my basics food, water and rest (usually rest), not having enough fun and forgetting to put the priority on feeling the love of live.

I think that Willow Stream’s philosophy evolved from that belief. I love this brand and we created it and keep creating it every day. It is all about providing places to help us build healthy energy so we can live well – with abundance and abandon.

We started in 2000 with research on how people felt about their health and how our spas could fit into this. Our first Willow Stream opened in December 2001 and we opened our 11th on July 4 in Monte Carlo with 4 more to come this year.

While they are ALL wonderful places to spend time focusing on our health – they are filled with amazing people who just show up – energized and engaged every day. Many of our leaders have been part of the shaping of this brand and its energy from the beginning.

Jill Eisenhut, for example. She is the Spa Director at Willow Stream Fairmont Scottsdale. That spa is so much a reflection of her commitment and she has been there from the beginning, creating her dream spa. I think her favorite word is team and the team she has built is just fun to be around. She can really cook, too!

Paul Hawko has been in Bermuda for the past 6 years, most recently as the Spa Director. He started with us in Banff as a therapist. He is going to move on to open the new Willow Stream in Vancouver at the Fairmont Pacific Rim which opens in January. Paul puts more hours into caring about his spa than anyone I know and he always appears so refreshed; we are all trying to find out his secret.

Michelle Young started with us lead aesthetician at the Fairmont Empress Willow Stream and went to Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn as a manager and then as Spa Director at Fairmont Turnberry Isle. She can create some of the best treatments and home care ideas ever and I have never seen her in anything but good cheer.

Maxime Cormier started in Mayakoba, Mexico and is now in Montreaux, Switzerland. He gave us the Willow Stream dance. Just ask any of our colleagues to perform this for you. It is now part of our orientation for new team members. He and I also have a fun competition going on for who can get to our best energy weight and fitness level. He is winning, of course.

I love hanging around Pam Ouellet. She is the Spa Director at Willow Stream Fairmont Banff Springs and you can learn more about her on our Facebook page as she just finished a triathlon with some of her WS colleagues. I can never figure out how you get so much energy in such a little body.

Our newer Spa Director additions include Trevor Studd in Singapore who joined us last year. He is already making a difference with the energy in his spa – check out his Energy Boot Camp. Michelle DeMelo, Spa Manager at Fairmont Empress, Roselia Flandes, Mayakoba and Rossi Nikolova, Monte Carlo are all bringing a youthful vitality to the team with fresh and exciting ideas for their spas.

They are all just fun to be around.

Fun also shows in our therapists and aestheticians. All of our service providers go though an “Energy Master” program where they earn credits towards that designation. Each year the top credit earners get to celebrate somehow. A couple of years ago, they went to Mayakoba for two days to learn new treatments and train with our product partners. Here they are in the pool with TARA learning some new technique? Tara has many treatments on our menus but created the locally inspired ones that are so popular in Mayakoba.

Yours in Laughter.