Chapter 17 - Summit TrailsThe district rebid the camp contract.
Summit Trails competed.
Lost.
Not because Robert was secretly criminal.
Because another provider offered comparable programming, stronger conflict controls, and lower cost.
Summit Trails lost Westbridge revenue.
The lender required Robert and Susan Bell to contribute additional equity to support the lodge loan.
Robert sold a recreational property he owned personally.
Painful.
Not ruin.
He remained in business.
But the easy automatic renewal disappeared.
Robert wrote Mark an apology.
Mark almost deleted it.
Then read.
I treated Dylan’s seat like part of a revenue target.
Good start.
I never asked Elaine to threaten or punish him.
True.
But I pushed her to get every seat because I was afraid of losing the contract.
Specific.
I made enrollment feel like a family emergency.
Then:
That pressure was mine to manage. I let it become hers, and she passed it downward to children.
Mark folded the letter.
Dylan asked:
“Who’s it from?”
“Robert Carter.”
“Do I have to read?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
May you like
Agency.
Mark shredded it.
