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Katlyn Hatcher
IF THERE IS ONE LESSON to take away from Katlyn
Hatcher’s story, it may be this: never underestimate
the power of a single web search. Now a 10-year
veteran of the spa industry who, since 2016, has
served as Director of Spa and Wellness at
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Hatcher
started her career in a very different place.
“I was working in sales after graduating
college and felt very uninspired. I just wasn’t
passionate about the role and felt I wanted a job
where I could make more of an impact with
people. I got a position at a local day spa planning
events and guest services. I thought this would just be a
transition while I “figured it out,” but I completely fell in love
with all things spa! I wanted to learn and grow in the
industry, and I remember I Googled “Best Spa East Coast”
and found Nemacolin.”
While she says that her professional role keeps her consistently
challenged and engaged, it’s being a mom to three
children under the age of four that has pushed her limits
in the most profound ways. “Motherhood is interesting
because it seemingly makes your life more complicated—
schedule-wise and responsibility-wise. At the same time,
it deeply centered me and simplified my priorities. Being
a working mom also gave me more empathy; we’re all
human beings doing a job with different circumstances, a
nd the more we can appreciate that fact and support each
other as human beings with lives, the more we can flourish
in our work.”
Though the pandemic has limited her ability to travel—
something Hatcher says she can’t wait to get back to—she
has used the time to pursue those simple pleasures
extensively, soaking up family time
and spending her spare hours hiking,
swimming or simply enjoying a glass of
wine on her back patio.
Also an animal lover, Hatcher used the quarantine period
to help some feline friends and serve her community at the
same time. “I try to focus locally with my time and resources
as much as possible,” she says. During her spa’s COVIDrelated
closure, she worked with a colleague to spay or
neuter and find homes for the growing stray cat population
in her area. Nemacolin, she proudly notes, also sponsors
local families every year to provide Christmas gifts for
victims of domestic violence.
Recent months may have been challenging, but Hatcher
says it’s the simple things—kids, family, the outdoors—that
she focuses on at the ends of workdays that are both hectic
and fulfilling. Avoiding TV, which she calls a guilty pleasure,
has helped too. “I gave up TV four months ago and I haven’t
looked back, but during quarantine time, I started a record
collection. I love to light some candles and listen to my
record player at home. My kids get excited about who gets
to place the needle. It’s been a great conversation piece!” n
SEPTEMBER 2020 ■ PULSE 63