Spreading the love
16th February 2023
Republished with permission of Essex Life.
“We love being based in Essex and giving back to the community. Essex is our home, we have never lived anywhere else.” Jason and Lisa Bartella, the owners of Pontlands Park Hotel, share their love story, what it is like to work together, and how they involve their children in giving back to Essex charities.
Love is a driving force for Jason and Lisa Bartella, in family life, their business and their connection with the community in Essex.
Born and bred in the county, the couple, who have just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary, successfully combine working together in their family business, being the parents of three daughters and helping those less fortunate than themselves.
Jason is the Managing Director of the Heritage Leisure Group incorporating Ivy Hill Hotel in Margaretting and Pontlands Park in Great Baddow, having taken over from his father Robert when he retired some years ago. Jason and Lisa together, run Pontlands Park and as a way of giving back to the community, where their businesses are based, the family has the well-established Bartella Charitable Fund, run by the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation (ECF).It means that Jason and Lisa and their three daughters Lilli, 22, Fabi, 19 and Frankie,14 can see at first-hand the impact of their Fund which gives grants to local causes, especially those providing help and support to children.
Jason said: “I think it’s important for us as a family to have a greater involvement in the community, and personal links to some of the charities we support.”
A deep-felt devotion to Essex is a pivotal part of Jason and Lisa’s life. “We love being based in Essex and giving back to the community. Essex is our home, we have never lived anywhere else.” said Lisa.
Jason was born in Brentwood and grew up in Stock. Lisa was born in Chelmsford and grew up in Great Waltham.
Lisa said: “We met when I was 17 and came to work at Pontlands, where Jason, who was 25, interviewed me. Although Jason will be the first one to admit he’s not a great romantic, we’re very fortunate that, due to hard work, we have had many great moments in life. But it’s not about what these moments are, it’s about who they were with.”
“We were married in the Lilli Suite at Pontlands in January of 2003 in an intimate ceremony followed by a cocktail party with close friends and family. Working together as a married couple has been good for us, with a relationship based on respect and trust for each other. Communication is the key.”
“We have supported each other through life’s ups and downs, putting our families and loved ones first, but never forgetting how important we are to one another.”
Jason said: “As a family and as a business we had to draw on our strengths throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The support we gave each other was combined with the need to reassure customers and staff that there would still be a business and that everything would be okay.”
ECF has played a major role in the Bartella’s love for the county, from the time Jason and his father Robert set up the family’s charitable fund in 2004 through to Jason being a trustee for eight years and now a Vice President of the Foundation.
Jason and Lisa have made their passion for Essex and giving from the heart to good causes in the community a way of life and a truly enduring love.
“I tell everyone I can about ECF and our Fund with them because I am so passionate about it,” said Jason. “Having the Fund is such an enjoyable thing for our family. We come together to sit around the dining room table to discuss the funding applications ECF sends to us and decide which ones to support. There are so many charities that need funding, and we are grateful to be in the position to help in the small way that we can.”
For more information about how your family can set up a Fund with us, click here or call 01245 355947.