When Will and Lori Koch were raising their three children in the early 2000s, the couple didn’t want to pressure them into joining the family business. So, they emphasized: Develop your own passions, and come back only if you really want to.
“I think our dad was so focused on not pressuring us that we almost felt like we weren’t allowed to come back,” laughs daughter Leah Koch-Blumhardt. Will knew what running the family business took: As the third generation of the Koch family to lead Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, he had added the 40-acre water park to the site’s attractions; developed the parks’ signature offers of free soft drinks, sunscreen, and parking; and taken it to new heights with The Raven wooden roller coaster in 1995.
Each sibling took their dad’s advice to heart. Leah aimed to join the family business and studied communications and public relations at Indiana University in Bloomington. Eldest daughter Lauren Koch-Crosby and younger brother William Koch pursued other interests. Then, their father died, and the trio received a crash course in succession planning.
Upon Will’s sudden death by drowning at age 48 in 2010, his brother and minority owner, Dan, became president of the parks and CEO of Koch Development Corp., their parent company. A well-documented three-year court dispute over ownership developed between Dan and Lori, Will’s widow, who challenged that her late husband — who did not leave a will — had intended his children to have the option to succeed him as owners. Will’s children — ages 21, 19, and 16 — had to make a crucial decision about their futures.
“It was one thing to process the death of our dad, and it was another to make a huge choice on whether or not we wanted to take this on,” Leah says. “I remember (our mom) coming to us and saying, ‘I will fight if that’s what the three of you want.’ And we collectively decided that we all wanted to fight.”
Lori filed suit as a representative of the family. An appeals court upheld a Vanderburgh County judge’s original ruling in 2013, and Lori and her children retained their 60 percent stake. Koch Development Corp. later bought Dan’s shares; an attorney in Florida, he is no longer involved in the business founded as Santa Claus Land in 1946 by his grandfather, Evansville industrialist Louis J. Koch. Now, Lori owns around 40 percent of the company and serves on the board of directors, while her three children share a 60 percent ownership stake. President and CEO Matt Eckert has led the parks since 2013. Lauren, Leah, and William joined the board of directors the same year.
The experience made a lasting impression on the siblings. A key takeaway: “Have a will,” Lauren says. “Estate planning is very important. Do not sidestep that. Do it just even in simple terms — whatever wishes you have, write them down somewhere.”
Their father’s death changed the siblings’ trajectories. Leah began working as the director of research and development in 2014 and has served as director of communications since 2019. Lauren, studying retail management and product development at Florida State University at the time of her father’s death, felt the pull to come home. “To have to say goodbye to our dad and Holiday World … that was going to be too much,” she says. “It was time to prove ourselves.”
As Holiday World’s Director of Entertainment and Events since 2015, Lauren develops visuals and activities to engage visitors, like revamping the portals visitors pass beneath between themed parks and designing the “grandmother’s house”- themed set for Good Gravy!, a family roller coaster that debuted in 2024.
Along the way, the family business added Leah’s husband, Matthew Blumhardt, as Chief Operating Officer and Lauren’s husband, Michael Crosby, as Director of Hospitality. Brother William works outside the family business and just started as the head of sound for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast The Musical” national tour.
The sisters’ thumbprints are on events and attractions across the parks. In August, they’re launching live music and drink specials during Friday Night Live, as well as the Summer Wine’d Down Culinary Festival offering 30 event-specific menu items with recommended wine pairings. As members of the parks’ board of directors, Lauren and Leah also help shape the company’s culture. “It’s taken us over a decade, but we’ve gotten a lot of work-life balance adjusted. We’re trying to make this a place that people want to work long term. We want this to be a job that everybody enjoys, and we don’t want burnout,” Leah says.
Employee happiness is especially important as Holiday World expands its season to 132 days in 2025. Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari attracts nearly 1 million visitors annually and racks up awards for its efforts: In 2025, Holiday World ranked ninth on USA Today’s top 10 readers’ choice picks for best theme park, and Splashin’ Safari took the fourth-place award for best outdoor water park. That said, “Holiday World will never build its last roller coaster. There’s always a new project,” Leah says, pointing to the company’s recent purchase of the nearby Santa’s Cottages to begin offering overnight accommodations. “Holiday World has a ton of potential, and I feel like we’re really figuring out our formula right now,” she says.
Read more about succession planning at three other businesses.
