Membership

What is the Community of Minnesota Resorts All About?

Our Mission:
The Community of Minnesota Resorts (CMR) exists to help family owned and operated resorts in Minnesota to continue as a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry.

Our Motto:
The Community of Minnesota Resorts’ motto is “Resorters Helping Resorters.”  We believe that none of us alone is as smart as all of us together.

The Community of Minnesota Resorts is an industry association dedicated to the mission of helping family owned and operated resorts in Minnesota to continue as a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry. The association is entirely volunteer supported. We assist members in marketing and education and assure a voice at the MN state capitol. Every year we offer scholarships to member’s children or grandchildren, give an annual “Resorter of the Year Award”, and offer vendors an opportunity to connect with resorts through our Associate Member Program.

Join the CMR, or Renew Your Membership Today

There are multiple ways for you to Join, or Renew your membership.

Fill Out our Online Application.

Call 320-212-5107 or email us.

Or, print and fill out a CMR Membership Application.

CMR Membership Application

MAIL TO: CMR – Community of Minnesota Resorts
PO Box 61
Dent, MN 56528
Attn: Membership Division

Are you a vendor who would like to be an Associate Member of the CMR?  Just fill out our Associate Member Application and Mail to the above address.

Associate Membership Application

Benefits of Being A Member of the CMR

Marketing Benefits of CMR

Educational Benefits of CMR

Legislative Benefits of CMR

Vendor Discounts

Special discounts are offered to CMR members (i.e. low rates on credit card processing, special wholesale pricing on log furniture, 10% off reservation software, 5% off lawn equipment, etc.)

Workshops and Conferences

Fall Conference

The CMR Fall Conference is coming up quickly. It is scheduled at Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd. It is scheduled for Sunday, October 28, Monday, October 29 and Tuesday, October 30. There is an optional “Fun Day” scheduled for those that are interested on Saturday, October 27th.  Click here for the 2018 CMR Fall Confereence Brochure and Registration

Some of the many speakers and topics include:

Contracts for Deed: Risks and Benefits: Zach Johnson, Thomason, Swanson & Zahn. Contracts for Deed were once the primary way that resort businesses were sold. Times are changing. Contracts for Deed are coming back in fashion.

Income Tax Updae and Related Planning Strategies: Bruce Imholte, CPA will explain what changes are coming to the code that will impact us. Learn how you can be prepared.

Preparing for Success When All is Changing Around Us: John Edman, Director of Explore Minnesota Tourism (EMT) will update us on changes happening in the tourism industry. He is ready to answer questions.

Claudia Around the World Tours: Claudia Allene has unique experiences and insight to customer service. She traveled the world for 3 years and has gained a whole new perspecitve on customer service. Think outside the box and listen to what she has to say!

The Science Behind Cleaning Products: Chris Gatewood, Territory Manager, Cole Papers knows his business, cleaning products. He will tell us the science behind cleaning produces, how they clean and how they are made and will touch on FDA safety.

Reduce Negativity: Eliminating Thought Circles and Tornadoes: Willow Sweeney, Top 20 Training Speaker and Author received such great feedback when she presented to us last year that we asked her to come back this year. She will help us learn how to reduce and be aware of negativity in our own thinking.

DNR Fisheries, Update and Norhtern Regulation: Brad Person, the new MN DNR Fisheries Chief will update us on what is happening in the Fisheries Department.

Panel of Resorters: Some of the questions that will be discussed are What are some of the decisions made that they would do again? What would they have done differently? What advice would they give new resorters?

Entertainment: In the evenings and during breaks, make sure to take the time to talk to your fellow resorters. One evening we will have a fun Team Trivia Game!

Vendor Show: Come to the Vendor Show to find out about products of interest to Resorters! Of course there will be the great prize giveaways and you must be present to win!

CMR Famous Cracker-Barrel Sessions: Ask questions, listen to answers, learn from your fellow resorters!

Much more!

Additionally, we have a Resorter’s Fun Day scheduled for Saturday, October 27th. We will meet at Cragun’s at 1:00 and “get on the bus” for a breweries tour. We will tour Roundhouse Brewery, Jack Pine Brewery and Gull Dam Brewery. The cost is only $20 per person for the bus. If you aren’t able to go on the tour, join us for dinner at Cragun’s when we return at 5:30! Be sure to check the box on the Registration that you are interested in the tour.

Annual Fall Resort Tour

Tuesday, September 18, 2018 was the most recent CMR Fall Resort Tour. It was well attended with about 20 resorts being represented by about 40 people. The resorts that graciously opened their doors to us were:

Little Boy Resort, Longville
Timber Trails Resort, Remer
Brindley’s Harbor Resort, Walker

If you weren’t able to attend this year, think about next year. It is a great time to see old friends or make new friends and just spend a relaxing day away from your resort after a busy summer season.

School of Resorting

Classes are offered and change throughout the year – check back often!

Day On the Hill

REGISTER TO ATTEND by emailing info@sunsbay.com
CMR Day On The Hill February 19th and 20th 2019

Our theme will be centered around the loon, just like our resorts, a symbol of Minnesota and the up north vacation experience.  Plus, it’s a key component of our upcoming branding campaign.

ANSWER THE LOON’S CALL TO ATTEND?  Like the loon, resorts are an integral part of the Minnesota “up north” vacation tradition.  To continue to remain a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry, resorts need legislation in place to protect their legacy and longevity.  Day On The Hill allows us to communicate to legislators how best to implement legislation that allows resorts to function in the best business environment possible so that the tradition of the “up north” Minnesota lake side vacation exists for generations to come.  Through Day On The Hill, the CMR has, and will continue to influence future legislative decisions by informing legislators how issues impact resorts and the travel and tourism industry in general.  The legislators DO listen, and want to hear from the individuals they represent.  The more attendees, the more we can voice our message: the more voices, the more we are heard.

So let’s “flock” together for Day On The Hill and make our voices heard on issues that are important to us as resort owners and members of the tourism industry.  Represent your resort and join us on the bus!  We need you, as members of the Community of Minnesota Resorts, to visit with the legislators and communicate how various issues such as changes in the 1c Ma and Pa resort classification, EMT funding, Child Labor Laws, Post Labor Day School Start, Broadband Internet, Vacation Rentals by Owner and other issues impact our resort businesses.  It is a busy, but rewarding experience.

THE CMR PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING:

Support, information and talking points to prepare for meeting with legislators. (Meetings are pre arranged by our Lobbyist, Joel Carlson).  We visit legislators in groups typically of 3 or more, so you can contribute as much or as little as you feel comfortable.

A gift to leave behind with each legislator to remind them of our issues. This year, the leave behind is related to the loon, which like resorts, is synonymous with a lake vacation experience.

Free transportation to and from St. Paul.

Drinks and treats on the bus, and at the Capitol each day.

Lunch on the 20th during our day visiting legislators.

Arrangements for dinner on the evening of the 19th. This will be a casual buffet dinner to include pizza, salad, and boneless chicken wings.  Cost for this is included in the hotel room charge, as shown below.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO ATTEND?  Your cost of $110 will cover the hotel room and dinner on the evening of the 19th.  Drinks at dinner and lunch on the drive down will be at your expense.  Payment made out to the CMR for room and dinner will be collected on the bus on the 19th.

We hope you join us for our next Day on the Hill. We cannot do it without you! For questions please contact Jim Wherley at info@sunsbay.com or 218-758-2020.  Once you register, we will make the hotel reservations for you based on your desired room (1 King bed, or 2 Queen beds).

REGISTER BY E-MAILING KRISTIN WHERLEY AT: info@sunsbay.com.  Please provide the following:

-Name (s) of who will be attending                               -Resort name

-Telephone numbers                                                       -Email address

-Room preference (King sized bed, or 2 Queen beds)

-Where you will catch the bus (determined stops so far: Park Rapids, Walker, Baxter, St. Cloud)

To see the hotel (Country Inn and Suites Woodbury),click on this link.  You do not need to make reservations, we are doing that for all attendees once we receive your above registration information.

Once we receive your registration we will confirm its receipt and that your room preference has been reserved for you.

Registrants will also receive an outline of the potential topics we will be discussing with legislators. Once at the capitol we will provide you with talking points to reinforce our message on those topics.

In addition to our legislative agenda, the bus ride is always a place to talk, share ideas, ask questions and learn how other resorters are doing things, so won’t you join us on the bus?

Spring Workshop

A big thank you to everyone that attended the 2018 CMR Spring Workshop at Boyd Lodge, Crosslake, on April 10^th. We had well over 50 resorters attend the workshop. It was a perfect way to spend a spring day…. expecially since the spring weather isn’t cooperating this year.

-MN Department of Natural Resources, Lieutenant Chad Sherack, covered a number of topics. He talked about the new northern regulation, our rights and responsibilities when dealing with our guests and their behaviors (over fishing, boating irresponsibly, etc.), how to deal with nuisance animals, when DNR permits are required. He kept our attention during his whole presentation!

-The Impact of Print: Sherry Frick, Minuteman Press, Shared with us her expertise in marketing and print. She explained how to use print to connect with our guests.

-Panel of Resorters: Activities and Amenities: Black Pine Beach Resort, Finn n’ Feather Resort and Boyd Lodge were gracious with their time and answered so many questions about what they have done or not done in the past, what they want to do in the future, and what their philosophy is regarding activities and amenities.

-Getting the Most out of your CMR Membership: we heard lots about what you can do to get even more out of your CMR membership. There were quick reference guides that explains how to update your information on the CMR website (Log in, What is on the Dashboard add photos, edit information, Last Minute Openings). We also received a list of topics that you can find in previous editions of the Resorter Magazine. The benefit of serving on the CMR Board, attending the CMR Day on the Hill, attending the CMR Fall Conference…..

-Crackerbarrels (they are always a huge hit) We had 2 planned. They weren’t enough. We will have more of them and more time allotted at the CMR Fall Conference. Chatting during breaks and lunch is always fun too. It is great to chat with other resorters.

-Explore Minnesota Tourism and a Legislative update

Thank you again to those that attended the 2018 CMR Spring Workshop. Hopefully we will see you at the Fall Conference!