A local couple rubbed shoulders with an Arubian dignitary last month at a dedication ceremony marking the end of a $36 million renovation project for a resort in Aruba.
Randy Pozniak and his wife, Kelly, had the opportunity to meet Mike Eman, the Prime Minister of Aruba and his wife, Doina, at a dinner party to celebrate the La Cabana Beach & Racquet Club’s 20th anniversary as well as the completion of the three-year project, of which Pozniak had a hand in.
“It was pretty awesome,” Pozniak said of meeting Eman and his wife. “They were both very personable people. At one point, I was looking for Kelly and I found her carrying on a conversation and having a drink with the first lady.”
The celebration was held in the lobby of the resort, which Pozniak boasted was one of the more “spectacular” pieces of the renovation.
Pozniak’s role in the Caribbean timeshare facility came in 2004 when he was elected to the resort’s board by its shareholders. He now also serves as the resort’s treasurer. In 2007, a booming economy gave way for the board to plan a complete renovation of the resort which began in May 2008.
“We kept a lot of local contractors in Aruba busy with this project when the economy weakened,” Pozniak explained. “A lot of the supplies were also bought locally and the government of Aruba was extremely appreciative of helping to keep the employment up.”
The Sept. 20 celebration was attended by not only Aruba’s head of government, but also by several members of Aruba’s 21-member parliament and other tourism executives.
“It was an honor to have so many notable faces at this celebration,” Pozniak said. “The security there was incredible. It was quite the show.”
He laughed as he discussed telling the Emans’ of life in International Falls.
“They said, ‘People really live there?’ I talk to them about the cold weather and ice fishing and they just can’t imagine not only walking on the ice, but driving on it,” Pozniak said.
Pozniak added that although he is involved with the behind-the-scenes business of the La Cabana Beach & Racquet Club, visiting Aruba is still a vacation for him and Kelly. The resort, which is strictly timeshare, sits on Eagle Beach which Pozniak noted has been labeled one of the top 10 beaches in the Caribbean by the Travel Channel.
“It is an amazing, family-friendly place,” Pozniak said. “I’m honored to be part of it and to have had the opportunity to be present at that celebration.”
