Lakeland College

Subscribe

 

Alumni Spotlight - Fritz Laeser `73

What do you do for a career when you spend your time in college studying physics and engineering science? Work for a large firm? Spend your days in a lab? Become a science teacher? Not if you are Fritz Laeser. He decided to take a much different path, one that led him to Eagle River, WI to life as an innkeeper. Fritz admits that he was less than sure about his future while a student at Lakeland, but physics to hospitality is quite a jump. How did he get from Point A to Point B? There were many steps in between.

"After graduation I worked with the Marcus Corporation managing Big Boy restaurants in Wisconsin and Illinois." In addition, Fritz was in assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC as a medic. Not exactly physics, but work at Big Boy was work Fritz seemed to enjoy. His food service career flourished after that job. After his time in the military, he worked for United Airlines. He started in food service but eventually moved into the cargo division. "My staff and I prepared the documents of the international flights arriving and departing at O'Hare International Airport." When his department was outsourced, Fritz packed up his experience in hospitality and moved on up north to pursue a lifelong dream.

When asked to tell us a bit about his employer Laeser says, "Boss is hard to work for. He's a pain." Someone should tell Fritz not to be so hard on himself! As owner and general manager of the Edgewater Inn & Cottages in beautiful Eagle River, WI, Fritz enjoys the day-to-day tasks for which he is responsible. "I'm the manager, reservationist, maintenance staff, concierge, and host; and he still finds time to sit back and relax with the guests".

When asked about his Lakeland memories, he gave a typical response, "Too many to list." However, he did note that he misses the people and his friends the most, especially being able to interact with people from different places and beliefs. Perhaps that is why he surrounds himself with guests on a daily basis. Fritz recalls a wonderful time with his buddies in and around the campus center, where there were always activities happening. Of course college is about more than fun and friends, he thanks Prof Schilcutt and Dean Buerger for "keeping [him] going" in that respect.

If you would like to meet Fritz in person, or simply plan a getaway to Eagle River you can visit his site at www.edgewater-inn-cottages.com. When he is not hard at work for his business, Fritz is an avid photographer and involved with the Eagle River Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the advertising and promotions committee.

Share This Story

 

Digg del.icio.us Yahoo Google Facebook Technorati

<< Return to News