“ What Hollyhock is bringing to the world in 2023 is personal growth for social transformation. I’m really excited to see the world opening up, but with a recognition that things need to change. Cortes offers a really unique perspective on that because it’s an island. It’s a small community of people who know each other and there is the opportunity to live a more sustainable lifestyle here. When I think of Hollyhock at its best, it’s a leadership or a learning lab for what could be and I think that Cortes is a huge part of that,” said Peter Wrinch, the CEO of Hollyhock.
Prior to the pandemic, Hollyhock was one of the island’s principal businesses. The road back has been rocky at times, but from what Wrinch says the Cortes Island educational centre may be heading towards one of its best years ever.
Peter Wrinch: “When the pandemic hit in 2020, it took us by surprise. It was heartbreaking in a lot of ways.”
“We started talking about recovery, as everyone did, but really 2021 was not a recovery year for Hollyhock. People still had all sorts of concerns about traveling here. We were trying to book our 2022 programs when Omicron was blowing up. Presenters and teachers weren’t sure they were going to come. In that regard, 2022 was not an optimized year from a program perspective. In 2021, we ran about 60% of the programs we had in 2019. But a number of the decisions we made throughout the pandemic year is 2020, and 2021 really helped with our team and staff culture.”
“One of the hardest things that happened to us in 2020, was that we did not welcome back a large number of our seasonal staff because we canceled all of our programs.”
Cortes Currents: What happened with the rest of your staff?
Peter Wrinch: “We decided to invest in our people. Instead of cutting everything back, we kept as much of our team as possible and extended benefits.. In 2021 we continued in that way. We made sure to take as good of care as we could of our people, and I think that mattered.”
“One of the things that so many businesses are struggling with right now is that the pandemic really broke employment relations. When business levels dropped, people got laid off and then they went and found different ways of surviving. That was the right thing to do for those people, but I think manyemployers are struggling to build those employment relationships back.”
“That certainly happened to us to an extent, but I think that we were lucky to hold on to some of our employment relationships. When we got to 2022, we had increased our wages, we increased our benefits. We were able to recruit and to maintain a strong seasonal team. I think that we also made investments in our culture, that make Hollyhock a place that people want to work.”
“Our staff and team at Hollyhock was one of the best we’ve ever had, and it just made the experience for our guests and our presenters so much better.”
“In 2022 we almost matched our revenues from 2019. We had less guests come through, but it was really starting to get back to our pre-pandemic level. We had some really fun programs. A lot of our beloved teachers came back. We also ran our Hollyhock Leadership Institute programs, including Activate,Social Venture Institute. We piloted a gathering about psychedelics Paul Stamets . I’m very proud of what we did in 2022. I feel that It was about the best we could hope for given that we planned it in a year where there was still a lot of doubt because of Covid.”
There is still a lot of suffering with COVID, but I think as a society, 2022 feels like it was a turning point. “I think we now understand that this will be with us for long term. We have to get out, do things we love, do things that bring us joy. So when our program team was booking 2023, they were booking it in that world with presenters who were looking to get out and come back and experience.”
“I would also say that I think that the pandemic has really highlighted how important it is to be together as humans, as social beings and I think that Hollyhock is really good at doing that.”
“It’s not just Hollyhock. I think that Esalen is really good at doing that; I think Kripalu is really good at doing that; I think Omega is really good at doing that. All of these retreat centers that we’re a part of see the potential of really helping people connect and be together after the pandemic.”
Cortes Currents: Do you have any metrics that show how much of a difference Hollyhock is making in the world?
Peter Wrinch: “Anecdotally we receive a whole lot of feedback like: ‘My time here changed my life’; ‘I went back and my relationships are better’; ‘I feel so much more refreshed, I feel like I can do this work. Many people who have engaged with Hollyhock have gone on to lead businesses, political careers. Our Premier right now (David Eby) came to Hollyhock many, many times when he was a younger man. What we’re trying to figure out is how do we move from anecdote to more measurable, but we have not figured it out.”
Cortes Currents: Do you see any challenges in the year ahead?
Peter Wrinch: “There are obviously some economic headwinds, talk of recession, inflation, rising interest rates. We are watching the general economic situation.”
“For 2023, we’re running about 80 programs., so that would be up from about 55 in 2022. That brings us closer to our 2019 levels of 80 programs.”
“One of the really exciting developments for me is Hollyhock’s Leadership Institute, which focuses on four streams of programming: Next Economy, Mobilize, Equity, and Climate. We have so many beloved teachers who’ve been with us for so long and we’re happy to have a number of those people returning, but we’re also really happy to include some new voices. Programs from presenters who are just starting out, who are of a new generation, have a new view on the world and what the world needs.”
“Hollyhock was founded 41 years ago. What the world needed in 1982 is very different than what the world needs from a Hollyhock in 2023.. There are strings of connection through it all. Love, connection, getting to know ourselves, each other, and the natural world. But I think that the way we presented it is really unique in 2023. There are a lot of realities now that weren’t present in 1982, and so we’re really excited to be bringing in new voices of new presenters.”
“I think we’re averaging at about 30% new presenters, bringing new ideas and new people to Hollyhock.”
Cortes Currents: If you were to summarize the theme for 2023 in a single sentence, what would that be?
Peter Wrinch: “Personal growth for social transformation. Everything we do here is related to building a better world and building the people who will inhabit that better world. Everything we do needs to be socially engaged. As much as I believe in the power of meditation, I want Hollyhock to be putting forward engaged meditation.”
“When I was younger, I was really lucky to work in Vancouver’s downtown East Side for an organization that was led by a really charismatic founder. He was a fierce advocate, a lawyer, but he was also a practitioner of engaged Buddhism and it really rubbed off on me. I think wisdom traditions have so much to offer us as individuals, but I also think that the world right now requires engaged practice, whether that’s spiritual or otherwise.”
Cortes Currents: Before the pandemic, you had a staff of about 60. How many have you got now?
“We have about 15 to 18 people who work year round, and then on about July 1st, we are somewhere near 60, sometimes upwards to 80. And so right now it’s January 19th, we are about 15 or 16 and we’re starting to gear up for the year. We’ll have a whole bunch of people join us in February, and then a whole bunch more in March. If I had the budget in front of me, I could see the actual number. But I think that we’ll be up to a pretty standard level of 60, 70, 80 by July.”
Cortes Currents: That actually sounds better than pre-COVID levels.
Peter Wrinch: “It’s comparable. We’ve put together a fairly aggressive strategy for 2023, and so we are definitely hoping to employ more people, create more jobs here on Cortes.”
“Our guest count will be similar to 2019, which is roughly around 2000. That’s what we’re aiming for this year. I think it’s doable, given that in 2022, we saw our guest count approach 2017/18 levels.”
“We’re working as hard as we can to make that happen. Our program team has put together a really great program for 2023, with a lot of great teachers – lots of returning, lots of new. and we’re seeing some pretty strong early sales numbers. That’s great for us. I believe it’s great for Cortes and great for jobs here.”
All photos courtesy Hollyhock
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