We Have a WINNER!

Congratulations to Karen Houshultz, owner of Apple Day Spa & Salon in Honesdale, Pennsylvania! Karen is the winner of DAYSPA’s Miraval Getaway Contest, and will receive a fabulous three-night stay for two at the amazing Miraval Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. The prize, valued at $4,750, includes airport shuttle service; all meals, snacks and smoothies; a $150 per night resort credit; unlimited participation in daily activities such as yoga, meditation and wellness lectures; and access to all amenities, including the resort’s Life in Balance Spa!

For the contest, which ran in October and November, 2013, we asked entrants to tell us what their spa does to foster wellness for their staff, clients and community, and we were wowed by Karen’s response:

“Apple Day Spa & Salon was the 2011 recipient of the Healthy Workplace Award in Wayne County. We offer a wellness calendar for staff, clients and community. Each month we focus on different aspects of wellness including morning stretch, yoga and daily walking for staff. We host informative seminars for staff and spa guests ranging from sleep deprivation, stress reduction, menopause, and anti aging remedies to name a few. We have guest speakers as well as educated technicians teaching. We can be spotted at our local grade school teaching elementary students about melanoma awareness through fun, interactive activities. For the past 5 years we have aligned with our local YMCA with a Biggest Loser contest. We offer medical wigs and are partnered with Recover With Confidence; visiting hospitals and oncology offices and offering FREE mini services to patients. We are also certified with the Look Good Feel Better Program. At Apple Day Spa we have an array of progressive and healthful services to offer our guests, including traditional spa services as well as shirodhara, an infrared sauna, hydrotherapy services and nutritional counseling. To put it simply…we’re health and wellness obsessed.”

DAYSPA executive editor Linda Kossoff called Karen to break the big news. “I was so excited when I heard that I won the Miraval Getaway prize. I love DAYSPA magazine and read it every month—I implement a lot of the ideas from the magazine and also try to enter some of the contests,” says Karen. “This essay contest appealed to me because we work so hard at Apple Day Spa to promote wellness to the staff, our clients and the community. We are an education-based facility and even though we are in a small community we do our best to stay at the forefront of our industry. Education, customer service, community involvement and teamwork are our top priorities!”

And what does this hard-working spa owner look forward to most once she gets to Tucson?

“I am so excited to soak up the warm Arizona weather as well as the beautiful scenery!” she says. “I can’t wait to enjoy all the amenities of Miraval—I’ve already started to make a list of the treatments I would like to try. Just checking out the spa on their website has got me excited to go…what an amazing facility!” As luck would have it, Karen also has some family in the area so she plans to extend her vacation to include a visit with them.

Thanks to all of the DAYSPA readers who entered the contest and, once more, congrats to Karen on the big win!