Following professionally in our parents’ footsteps has long become an American cultural and economic ideal, especially when the parent has been successful in his or her chosen endeavor. But if you are a woman in a male-dominated industry and your father has been widely recognized and applauded as an industry icon and pioneer, the path to professional success is even more challenging.

As a true timeshare Kid (child of a timeshare professional), Tracy Ragatz has proven that she was more than up to the challenge. Her dad is Richard Ragatz, president of Ragatz Associates, a leading consulting company serving the shared ownership industry on a global basis and an expert on fractional ownership.

During the past 37 years, Ragatz Associates, of Eugene, Ore., has performed more resort feasibility studies and research than any similar company, completing more than 2,500 studies in 72 countries. They have worked with every major timeshare company and have conducted a Fractional Forum for the past 11 years, with the next one to be held in Scottsdale, Ariz., March 12-13, 2012.

At a very young age, Tracy felt she would ultimately end up working in the shared ownership industry. “I was intrigued as I witnessed the industry evolve and expand in the U.S. at a very quick pace and eventually globally,” she recalls. “I have always enjoyed helping people, so seeing my father assist a developer with their resort ‘vision’ was very exciting. My mother still conducts focus groups and has always been extremely supportive. She is excited about the second generation of Ragatz Associates.”

Prior to joining her dad’s firm, Tracy had a 10-year career in the health and fitness industry where she held marketing and sales management positions with LA Fitness and 24-Hour Fitness, managing corporate marketing for several major health clubs in Southern California. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a MBA from San Diego State University.

Adds her naturally proud dad, “I initially invited Tracy to join our firm after she received her MBA, about 11 years ago. Who wouldn’t want to have a new employee who literally was born into the shared ownership industry, was bright, personable and a best friend? She decided to venture out on her own for a few years, which in hindsight, was a wise decision, since it helped her to further develop as a professional, gain a sense of responsibility, and prove to herself that she could make it on her own.”

He admits that he was delighted when she decided to come into the firm about six years ago. At that time, Ragatz Associates was owned by RCI, which had a strict nepotism rule about officers not being able to employ relatives. This restriction was one of the primary reasons he resigned from RCI … to re-establish Ragatz Associates as an independent company.

When Tracy started working with RA full time, she immediately assumed responsibility for the national survey and began learning the various components of the feasibility analysis. Her transition into timesharing felt very natural, based on her part-time association with the company for many years prior to her full-time involvement and the many informal tabletop discussions with her family.

Since joining Ragatz Associates, Tracy has been instrumental in helping re-birth and re-shape the firm. Her seamless transition from the health industry was relatively easy. She began writing chapters in feasibility analyses almost overnight, as well as guiding the firm to be more contemporary in their consumer survey methodologies and modernizing the way the company presents itself to the industry. Tracy was also instrumental in the formation of their new brokerage company, Ragatz Resort Realty.

Now, as vice president of Ragatz Associates, Tracy is responsible for feasibility analyses and market research with an emphasis on consumer surveys. Working on over 200 assignments throughout North America, she has directed five global surveys of the fractional interest, private residence club and destination club industries and two national surveys of resort timeshare owners and non-buyers for ARDA. She has full responsibility for conducting the firm’s annual survey of the fractional interest industry in North America, attends most ARDA conferences and helps organize the annual conference on the fractional industry. She has assisted in modernizing the company’s marketing capabilities through a variety of social media outlets including updating literature, websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc. accounts.

“Not only do I enjoy the benefits of working alongside my father, whom I respect and admire tremendously,” she says, “but I also have the opportunity to learn from one of the most knowledgeable and intelligent individuals in the industry. The qualities I admire most about him are his kindness, sense of humor, work ethic, integrity and intelligence. I enjoy working in an industry that is ever changing, has a colorful cast of characters, and has exciting projects. The sense of accomplishment comes from assisting with the developer’s vision and ultimately helping the end consumer. Although the economic downturn has had an impact on our industry due to a lack of developer and consumer financing, I still firmly believe the shared ownership industry will bounce back and has a bright future.”

Tracy has played basketball since she was ten years old, playing in college at UCSD, where she was a point guard. She still plays twice a week in an over 40 league. She believes athletics enabled her to develop skill sets that transferred to the work environment. Tracy is currently studying for her broker’s license, which will enhance her role in their sister company, Ragatz Resort Realty. She also enjoys travelling, theatre, her daily crossword, attending sporting events and spending time with friends and family.

Dick shares that his most significant challenges in having Tracy with his firm have been “to convince her that she is entitled time to learn, to not be intimidated by (her dad’s) history, to be her own person, and to fully respect and act upon her own great intelligence and integrity. She makes sure we continue to operate at the highest professional level with the utmost sense of integrity and service and makes her dad very proud. I have treasured watching her grow as a professional and as a woman. It has been a delightful six years. While I have no immediate plans to retire, we certainly talk about passing the torch to allow Tracy to take Ragatz Associates into the future, but, such a decision is hers alone and I will respect whatever she decides to do.”

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Marge Lennon is owner of Lennon Communications Group, Inc., in Fort Myers, Florida. She can be contacted for more information at (239) 482-3891 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.lennoncommunications.com