MARK Goodson is the owner and managing director of the Wayside Holiday Park at Wrelton, near Pickering
He comes from a Yorkshire family steeped in the entertainment business. His father, uncle and grandfather ran iconic cinemas in Filey, Tadcaster and Sleaford and he is continuing his family’s commitment to the leisure sector by developing the £500,000 ten-acre Wayside Lakes development, next to the holiday park, which the Goodson family have owned since 1975.
The five-star development, whose focal point is two picturesque lakes, can cater for up to 38 exclusive lodges.
For 25 years Mr Goodson was the co-director of own IT business in Hull, before semi-retiring and joining his father at Wayside Park in 2011.
He is delighted to have made the move and is tremendously enthusiastic about what Wayside has to offer, saying its lodges are “an oasis of calm amid a busy world”. He said: “We believe we have created one of the finest holiday parks of its kind in the north of England.”
Mr Goodson stressed that all the suppliers and contractors for Wayside Holiday Park were local, and it also supported the Ryedale Cancer Support and Social Group, the Wrelton playground committee and also its village grass-cutting volunteers.
What job would you like to have other than your own and why?
I would like to be in charge of the British Lawn Tennis Association, which has had the most tremendous opportunity to improve tennis in the UK, but has so far squandered it. I am heavily involved in the tennis club in my home town of Driffield, so I see at first-hand how the LTA is failing.
Greatest achievement?
I am very proud of how I have built on what my father created at Wayside Holiday Park. A park resident recently told me: ‘I really am enjoying my new holiday lodge by the lake and hope to do so for many years to come.’ That makes me very proud indeed.
What makes you most angry?
The London-centric, so-called Liberal left, who feel they know what is best for all of us, yet don’t have a clue about how most of the rest of the country lives. They seem to dominate politics, but are more interested in themselves than anyone else.
Biggest mistake
Giving my wife her birthday present two days prior to the actual day as I had got the date wrong. It could have been worse, it could have been two days later!
What do you need to make life complete?
I would like our Wayside Holiday Park to continue to be successful and for every pitch at the Wayside Lakes development to be taken. Equally importantly, I would wish for health and happiness for all my close friends and family.
Why do you make a difference?
I hope my commitment to people around me within my business life and within my family life makes a difference. This is fundamental to everything that I try to do, trying to achieve a better life for all those with whom I live and work. More specifically, I have contributed to the immediate community around me at Wrelton, improving the children’s playground and giving a brand-new lawnmower to the village.
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