Mayva Kottke, owner of Don and Mayva's Crow Wing Lake Camp in Brainerd, is stunned after receiving the MRCA Resorter of the Year award. This was the first time in its history that this award was presented to a campground operator.

Mayva Kottke, owner of Don & Mayva's Crow Wing Lake Campground, Brainerd, was named the 2005 Minnesota Resort & Campground Association (MRCA) Resorter of the Year at the Fall Conference. This was the first time in its history that this award was presented to a campground operator.

Kottke choked up as she was presented the award by last year's recipient Dave Gravdahl, Breezy Point Resort, and said she was truly surprised to receive the award. "I'm never at a loss for words," she said. "But I am right now."

The Kottkes purchased Crow Wing Lake Campground in 1971 after searching for a business the family could operate together. Up until that time, Mayva had never been camping before. She took to the business fast, and the family made many major improvements throughout the years. The campground today boasts 100 RV sites, 10 tents sites and a wide variety of amenities, including a heated pool, playground and Frisbee golf.

Kottke served on the Minnesota Association of Campground Operators board of directors for eight years and was instrumental in bringing about the merger in the mid-1990s between that association and the Minnesota Resort Association. In the off-season, she has driven a school bus for Reichert's Bus Service of Brainerd for 27 years.

Kottke was named 2005 Resorter of the Year for her superior management ability, her participation in resort associations on the local and state level, her encouragement of the protection of the environment and her constant leadership in the community. Accepting the award, Kottke said she has no plans to retire from the campground business; she is having too much fun.