"Last week I had the opportunity to experience your facility for the first time with a group I was facilitating. I feel compelled to share my thoughts with you and your team. First, let me say that feeling welcome is an understatement. In most cases, when you walk into a venue you are ignored at best. Your team was very proactive in letting me know their name, how they could be helpful, not just once but regularly. Wow, what a difference having someone available makes in easing my stress level when setting up. Second, the meals, the people are comfortable, friendly and easy to deal with. What a great experience for my group and the learning, well that was inevitable. You just help me look good. I would recommend this venue to others without question. Thanks again for a great week."

Diane Obrist-Lynam, Senior Consultant, The Gallup Organization

Laura Stoll, President and Founder of The Riot Act, fusing world class management consulting skills with theatrical improv. Interview by Ranch Hand, Laura Baker.

"I'm writing this letter of thanks on behalf of my entire leadership team that spent June 22-23 at your unique meeting site. The experience truly exceeded our expectations - the space (artwork, furniture, room layouts, etc), staff, and catering, and your personal involvement and attentiveness were exceptional. You've created a novel meeting and work environment, and our team accomplished more than we originally intended - all in a highly interesting, fun, and relaxing manner!"

Jon N. Cammack, Ph.D., Vice President, Global Leveraged R&D, Baxter Healthcare

"The environment quickly broke down the tensions and pretensions and allowed us to get right to learning and interacting....... It was fun to watch barriers come down and play creep into the learning process, making it all seem more fresh and personal... I worried less about image and more about engaging at The Ranch, I remembered the names of the people in my class, the instructor and the material more readily."

Kevin J. Wachtel, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Fiserv Andy Platt, Director of Process Improvement, Output Solutions, Fiserv

"I attended a work conference here and it was the perfect venue for it! I wasn't stuck in another fluorescent-lit conference room staring at power points. Instead we were all sitting around tables with things to keep our hands busy in the middle of each table (instead of checking our blackberries) including fuzzy felt and play-doh. It fit our group very comfortably (almost 100 people) without feeling overcrowded. And the food they had was amazing! I worked with them to host a company event after attending this conference, and the customer service and attention to detail and serving all of our needs and wants could not have been more pronounced. Everything from the decor, set-up, catering, and friendly staff, is a strong five-stared review in my book."

Reviewed by Rachel Y. on yelp - Real People. Real Reviews.

"As you know, VitalSmarts and Michael Quinlan, Inc. conduct 2 and 4-day intense learning workshops for our key Training & OD clients from all over the world, and our offsite training facility of choice is the Catalyst Ranch. We consistently use Catalyst Ranch
because:

1) The meeting space immediately puts participants at ease and is conducive to openness and creativity;
2) The Catalyst Ranch staff understands attention to detail and makes the planning and execution of an event seamless;
3) The food is not your typical hotel-fare. It's creative and excellent; a necessity for meetings and trainings;
4) The all-inclusive pricing means we never feel "nickel and dimed."

Our Fortune 500 clients rave about the unique and memorable "Ranch Experience," so we've conquered half the battle in running a successful event just by venue alone. Thanks for all your support and we look forward to many years working together."

Michael Quinlan, President, Michael Quinlan, Inc.

Lisa Saxon-Reed from Left Exit chats about why she holds focus groups at Catalyst Ranch. Interview by Ranch Hand, Lauren Baker.

"Thanks for your quick help with our meeting yesterday. The meeting was very productive and in a great environment. Most folks commented on how much they liked the venue - even those I had expected to be a bit cynical about it."

Paul Wolfe, GVP, Global Human Resources, Orbitz Worldwide

Susan Newhouse, Vice President of Innovation for, TNS-Landis one of the world's leading market research and innovation leaders. Interview by Ranch Hand, Zachary Fazio

"The staff is AMAZING!!!!"

"The experience was absolutely perfect! I would change absolutely nothing . . . great work!!"

"Just keep up the continued great work! It was my first time at the Ranch and Chicago . . you guys knocked my socks off! Bravo team!"

"It was amazing and such an innovative idea."

Comments from various individuals from YMCA of the USA

"It was the perfect spot for our Visioning Session. We obtained a plethora of great new ideas to expand the use of the software."

"Need to get senior leadership to book the follow-up session to our visioning work - lots of work to do developing the wealth of great ideas generated!"

Comments from various individuals from Health Care Services Corp. (Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois)

Danielle Kaynor, Business Innovationist for Creative Realities – the Innovation Management Collaborative. Interview by Ranch Hand, Dave Polsfuss