She doesn't appear to be a gritty heroine with her wide smile and blue eyes. And yet, Elizabeth Young and her husband, John, not only saved Desert Shadows Inn in Palm Springs from the wrecking ball, but they are also keeping alive the nudist dream.
Today, Elizabeth and John own the renamed Desert Sun Resort www.desertsunresort.com that appears to be thriving despite the economic downturn. One should consider that the property nearly didn't even make it to, let alone through the recession, in 2008.
"I hate to think back to the negative times because when we took it over it was so painful," Elizabeth told the Naturist Society's "N" Magazine www.naturist.com. "Everything was being shut down. The gardeners were let go and the pools were being turned off. When they (former owners) walked out the door at midnight they did take everything possible, including the phone system, the computer system, and everything..."
Elizabeth even recounted how a Norwegian couple showed up on the doorstep of then-Desert Shadows Resort, only to spot a sign saying the resort was closed. Talk about a bummer. One of the resort homeowner's came to the rescue and let them stay at their unit for the week.
The story has a happier ending. Today, the pools have been replastered, the hotel rooms have been remodeled with free Wi-Fi. What has not changed is the resort is "clothes free," rather than the more common "clothing optional." Sorry gawkers, no free shows at DSI.
From a public relations standpoint, accomplished, intelligent and telegenic women are the future of nude recreation. They are quite normal and yet they enjoy going without their clothes. What message does that send to women as a group?
The same can be said for Sharon Picone, the vegan nude chef from Florida with her au naturel cooking videos www.nudechef.com
It is easy to get discouraged about the future of nude recreation and then you see a wide smile and bright eyes . . .
John, the AANR (American Association for Nude Recreation) has mounted a PR thrust with varying degrees of success (e.g. "Nakations" campaign). Having said that, they are slow in embracing social media and video. Also keep in mind that most nudists prefer to be part of a semi-secret society and do not wish to have the glare of camera lights thrust upon their exposed backsides.
Posted by: Godiva | March 05, 2010 at 09:16 PM
As a journalist I've always wondered why there hasn't been a straight forward public relations campaign for nude recreation. It's not that hard and so easy (and cheap!) to put together. Working on the other side, I'll tell you local media would seize an opportunity to cover an event put on by a resort... too much old blood scared of the "interwebs" in control.
Posted by: John | March 04, 2010 at 10:40 AM