Our Mission

To Grow Goodness by loving our guests and each other.

 

What We Do

Thrive Attractions Management is a full service management company with over 1,000 employees that manages themed attractions, hotels, golf courses, recreational areas, gardens and historical sites. Thrive grows business by developing festivals and compelling themed entertainment that creates urgency and dynamic marketing that drives revenue. Thrive Attractions Management owns Thrive SMP LLC, and Thrive Hospitality LLC.

 

Giving Back

Thrive is committed to giving 20% of its profits to charity. The primary beneficiary of the charity grants is Thriving Lives, an employee-based 501c3 charity that does everything from help an employee with emergency bills to giving college scholarships.

Our Leadership

Michael Dombrowski

President and Owner of Thrive Attractions Management LLC, Thrive SMP LLC and Thrive Hospitality LLC.

In 2021, Michael Dombrowski formed Thrive Attractions Management, LLC (Thrive), a start-up based on his seasoned experience in financial institutions and attraction management with the purpose of engendering peak performance and greater success for the unique state resource that is Stone Mountain Park. The name “Thrive” was not chosen lightly. It is the concept that embodies Dombrowski’s approach to business enterprises, to the people who comprise them, and to the communities they serve. He has consistently applied his entrepreneurial drive and leadership skills to the growth and development of employees and to transforming working cultures into environments where people want to be and do their best. It’s a model that embodies Thrive’s mission statement “To Grow Goodness.”

Dombrowski worked for Wachovia Bank and PNC Bank, two well-respected Fortune 500 banking institutions for the first 16 years of his career, running large corporate cash management centers. Dombrowski gained the reputation as a turnaround specialist, multiple times in his career he has been told to “turn it around or shut it down” After speaking on servant leadership principles and cultural change at a conference called Souly Business, Dombrowski was approached with a proposition by Joel Manby, CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE). Since Dombrowski specialized in transforming cultures, would he consider becoming the human resources director at Stone Mountain Park, a struggling attraction? HFE grew through acquisition where it purchased properties where guests were treated badly and employees treated worse; transforming those venues into environments where the contagious joy of serving was manifested was his mandate. Dombrowski worked with the team and helped take Stone Mountain Park from the worst-performing property within HFE on employee engagement and guest satisfaction to one of the best. The US average for employee engagement according to measures like the Gallup Q12 is 29% of employees fully engaged; for the last 12 years, Stone Mountain has had employee engagement scores over 70%. His next assignment as Vice President of Organizational Development for HFE was to take the same systems and processes that succeeded at Stone Mountain Park and implement them through the 10,000 employees at HFE.

In 2014, Dombrowski accepted the position of Vice President and General Manager of Stone Mountain Park. Since the park had experienced negative cash flow for many years, his assignment was to shut down HFE’s operations at Stone Mountain. Instead, he was able to turn around Stone Mountain’s financial performance for six straight years. Dombrowski became Area Vice President for Herschend Family Entertainment in 2019. In addition to Stone Mountain Park, he oversaw management for Callaway Gardens, another property that was operating on a break-even cash flow. Similar to Stone Mountain, Callaway is a natural wonderland with no urgency to visit. Using the same plan of identifying key insights, employing ‘beauty activated’ enhancements and micro-marketing campaigns for seasonal activities, Dombrowski brought new life to Callaway Gardens. He launched a spring Flower Festival, an LED-light show of the ‘largest Christmas Tree in the South,’ a Pumpkin Festival and drawing more swimmers to the lake’s ‘beach within reach.’ After two years, Callaway achieved a similar turnaround to Stone Mountain Park. In 2021, Dombrowski launched Thrive Attractions management and was chosen as the finalist in the RFP process to run Stone Mountain Park and Thrive took over full operations of Georgia’s most visited attractions on August 1st of 2022

Photo Gallery

Press Release

Thrive Attractions Management, LLC, is proud to announce that it has been chosen as the finalist in the RFP to be the private manager of Stone Mountain Park by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, the state authority that oversees the state’s most visited attraction. Thrive is a newly created entity owned by Michael Dombrowski, who has served as vice president and general manager of the park since 2014. The selection of Thrive brings stability, a smooth transition and years of experience successfully operating Stone Mountain Park. “We are honored to have been selected to continue the great work of the past several years, and to keep in place an experienced group of senior managers and engaged employees,” said Dombrowski. “We’ll build on our success by caring for and loving our employees and guests, and ensuring Stone Mountain Park is a welcoming and inclusive environment for all visitors from Atlanta, the nation and the world.” Prior to the pandemic, Dombrowski is credited with turning years of negative cash flow at Stone Mountain Park into six consecutive years of profitability by bringing in new attractions and events. “In Thrive, we have chosen continuity, experience and an unmatched depth of knowledge and know-how,” said the Rev. Abraham Mosley, chairman of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. “The SMMA has a proven track record of working with the current management team for the better good of the park and the community,” said the Rev. Mosley. “I’m confident that we will build on that success.” Dombrowski is partnering with Crescent Hotels and Resorts, a national hotel management company that will oversee operations of the park’s Evergreen Resort and Conference Center and Stone Mountain Inn. Crescent is consistently ranked as one of the top five hotel management companies in North America.