Bruce Young has moved from Chief of Lexington’s Bureau of WDBJ’s Roanoke/Lynchburg News Station to Marketing Manager at the Omni Hotels & Resorts, the Homestead, in Hot Springs. While in news, his beat included Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge, and Pocahontas counties.
Though, Young has left the news beat, he still covers the news for the Homestead, kind of. In his new role as Marketing Manager, he handles communications, social media, press releases, and reporters. I visited the 1600-acre property that dates back to 1766, Thursday afternoon, May 26 to catch up with Young.
He greeted me at the front door with a big smile on his face, a cup of coffee in his hand, and loads of history lessons to share. As we walked the hallways of the Homestead, Young gave me a history lesson on each place we visited.
The first stop on the tour was the bathhouse where President “Thomas Jefferson literally sat in these waters,” said Young as he shared the history of a letter he had written, dated 1811. Jefferson is believed to have been in his 70s at the time the letter was written. He is one of the twenty-three US Presidents who visited the Homestead. The latest was President George W. Bush.
At the gazebos, I saw the original springs and learned that Dr. Good, a physician, had named them healing waters because of the colorless and odorless oxygen, hydrogen, and minerals contained in the sulfur acid. “We are not doing anything to them, they continue to bubble up by themselves,” supplied Young as we watched the springs bubbling.
Across from the gazebos was a building called “the casino”. “It was the gaming place used for such games as croquette many years ago,” said Young. From this vantage point, Young pointed in the direction of the ski slopes and explained they are now being used for a zip line.
On our walk to another section, we stopped to look at an original carriage parked inside the building. “We didn’t have cars and highways in the 19th century and before they had the trains coming through, people arrived at the Homestead via carriage,” explained Young. “They would ride out here in stages and be here for like a month,” added Young. During later years, the Omni shifted to accommodate more vacation stays and conferences. “People come from all over the place to vacation and attend conferences here,” continued Young.
On our walk back toward the entrance, we stopped by a wine tasting/food pairing room.“Every month a wine maker from around the state is invited in to do wine tastings and food pairings,” said Young.
Our final stop was in the theater, where I learned of some of the upcoming changes that will take place. The current, dated seating will be exchanged for cafe’ seating and a bar will be added. Making the movie theater into “more of a social experience rather than a theater experience,” said Young.
As we exited the building, Young pointed across a field directly in front of us to show me the first tee. “It is the oldest, continuously used golf tee in America. It was built with the first six holes but of course, now there are 18 holes as they continued to add on to it,” said Young.
There are several renovations taking place on the grounds of the Homestead during the many activities that are happening, daily. As the swimming pools are being ready for the busy summer season, guests may also enjoy hiking, tennis, biking, archery, tomahawk throwing, kayaking, scavenger hunts, falconry, history tours, spa and wellness, and watching movies every night among the many other activities that are planned at the Homestead during various seasons.
Some exciting things coming up in the next year at the Homestead are: Rearranging Martha’s Market, where Young buys his coffee; adding another restaurant; and, the completion of a newly built event pavilion that will be located on the golf course.
At the time of my visit, there were approximately 130 rooms occupied but Young advised normal occupancy is over 400 rooms.
“I’ve been coming to this place for 40 years and I plan to finish my career here,” said Young of his future plans.
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