GETTING TO KNOW US   

LARRY CONRAD (LJ) BIO:

     Larry Conrad has been owner and manager of the Desert Reef Hot Spring since 1986, and is acting President and CEO of the Desert Reef Beach Club, Inc.  Prior to taking on the creation of the Desert Reef, Larry was caretaker of “The Well” in Penrose, CO(now called Dakota Hot Spring), for ~two years.  Larry spent nearly six years, on the Arkansas River as a white water rafting guide for A.R.T., Arkansas River Tours (1979-85), a time of pure adventure, hard work, skill and great fun.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Murray State University, Murray, KY in 1971, the first in his family to complete a college education.  He has also honorably served in the US Army during the Vietnam Era, on both active and reserve duty.

     LJ started his private, Hot Spring business with Bob Kellner, as a joint, small business adventure after finding “a lake of hot water” at the present location.  They both purchased the land, water and mineral rights from CF&I where the present hot spring now exists.  They built and developed the pool and surrounding compound over the years, managed and cared for by Larry, on site and shared a wonderful collaborative partnership until Bob’s untimely death in 2004.

      LJ likes to see people relaxing and enjoying the natural world, and it is his continued goal to provide a safe and peaceful environment for all.  He shares the joy and wonder of the natural hot waters gratefully.

     Larry met his future bride, Roselia, in 1998.  They were married in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, in 2001, amongst family, friends and the beauty and spirit of the natural world.

ROSELIA CONRAD BIO:       

     Roselia Conrad, DO, is Larry’s wife, and acting Secretary and Treasurer of the Desert Reef Beach Club, Inc. since 2004.  As a former primary care physician for 15 years, she left the “rat race”, and saw a clearer, better way to help people live a healthier life.  As contributing writer of the DRBC newsletter, along with technical assistance by Derrick Relf, she is interested in improving communication with the customers who visit and who will visit the Desert Reef.  Committed to holistic healthcare, her medical practice will remain linked to the natural hot waters, which the Desert Reef provides, relieving stress, pain and improving mobility to so many individuals through the years.

Roselia is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), and continues a daily yoga practice, along with continuing education.  The expansion plan at the Desert Reef will include “The Yoga Center”, and she looks forward to offering that added service at the Desert Reef within the coming year.  Roselia is also a Traditional Herbalist, having apprenticed for 2.5 years with Tammi Hartung in Canon City, CO.  She hopes to bring more color, beauty and life to their desert home through ongoing gardening efforts by all those interested.  Roselia has been an osteopathic physician for the past 18 years and is board certified in Neuromuscularskeletal Medicine/Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (NMM/OMM), and is currently in private practice in southern Colorado as she continues writing her book, “DO…the Other Physician”, a personal story.  She received an Associate degree in Nursing in 1976 from Prairie State College; a BA in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University; began Master’s work in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, before directing her studies to pre-med sciences at the University of Maryland, continuing on and earning her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, in Lewisburg, WV, in 1993.

Academics aside, she has honorably served with the US Navy, as a Hospital Corpsman during the Vietnam Era. 

Roselia loves to see people discover and enjoy the natural hot spring experience.  Her Big Hairy Audacious Goal is for the Desert Reef Hot Spring to be recognized as one of the top leaders in the field of recreational day spas and event centers in the United States, and to create a collaborative Healing Retreat and Education Center focusing on “healthy living”.