The Nielson family, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Scott Nielson, St. George News
CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — As an accomplished local businessman, Scott Nielson is dedicated to fostering Southern Utah’s entrepreneurial spirit. Along with sharing his own story of self-made success, he and his family have created a legacy of supporting education, technology and growth.
Nielson was born in Ogden, Utah, to parents that taught him the importance of hard work and loyalty from an early age. His family moved to Hurricane when he was 12, and he has spent most of his life in the area.
“I’m proud to be local,” he said. “Even though I’ve sold products all over the world, everything that I’ve done has started out right here in Southern Utah.”
After graduating from Hurricane High School, Nielson served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arcadia, California, where he found himself surrounded by business and industry. For a young man coming from a relatively small town, it was exciting. His interest in business only developed further while taking an accounting class at Dixie College.
Nielson made his first foray into entrepreneurship in 1997. At age 21, he borrowed $6,500 from his grandfather and returned to California to buy two cars at auction, which he transported back to Southern Utah and subsequently sold for a profit. He then struck a deal with a used car lot in Hurricane to buy and sell vehicles under their license in exchange for a commission.
By 2001, Nielson had enough capital to establish his own dealership and opened the Hurricane Valley Auto Mall Inc. with his brother, Mike. He also started buying used RVs and quickly discovered that he found that side of the business far more interesting.
Nielson bought out his brother’s share of the company in 2004. That same year, he built a new facility on State Street in Hurricane and changed the name of the dealership to Nielson RV.
Nielson RV grew into the area’s largest RV dealership over the next decade, which gave Nielson the financial freedom to explore other business ventures. He started Nielson Development, a commercial land development company that has built over 250 projects in multiple states, and co-founded both the hunting apparel line SKRE Gear and Nielson Power Systems, an RV onboard generator company.
In 2015, Nielson RV expanded to St. George with a newly built 22,000-square-foot facility along the freeway. It was on this site that Nielson erected Southern Utah’s tallest flagpole, a 150-foot beacon of patriotism flying the stars and stripes high above the valley. He later donated the flagpole to the city of Hurricane for a planned veterans memorial park, a cause close to his heart.
In 2021, he received a call from Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World, with a multimillion-dollar offer to acquire the entire Nielson RV company. After the deal was finalized, Nielson decided he was too young to retire and immediately got to work on his next project.
Nielson bought 53 acres of land near Sand Hollow State Park and partnered with Jellystone Park, the nation’s leading family-oriented camping and outdoor entertainment brand, to create an RV resort unlike any other in Utah. Like all of his past enterprises, it will be built from the ground up.
Zion Utah Jellystone Park is themed after the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoons, bringing Yogi Bear’s world to life. The resort will be constructed in three phases, with the first phase opening in the summer of 2023.
Phase one consists of a water park featuring eight pools, a water tower, a lazy river and waterfalls along with 74 RV camping sites, 11 modern luxury cabins, pickleball and basketball courts and a jump pillow. The second phase will include a massive adventure center with blacklight mini golf and dozens of fun games for all ages.
“We’re not holding back,” Nielson said. “We’re doing it first-class all the way.”
Nielson is committed to promoting entrepreneurship and supporting worthy causes in Southern Utah. He and his wife, Kristin, have prioritized the values of giving back and taking pride in community while raising their seven children, who range in age from 5 to 16. Leaving a legacy of kindness is the inspiration behind the Nielson Family Foundation.
The Nielsons are longtime supporters of Utah Tech University’s Atwood Innovation Plaza, a hands-on gathering place for aspiring business owners. The plaza helps students and community members bring their ideas to life through a startup incubator, a makerspace, a business resource center, innovative workshops and more.
The Nielsons have made significant donations to the plaza since 2017. Beyond funding, however, they remain engaged by sharing ideas, offering mentorship and always seeking more ways to help.
“There are so many bright and talented individuals in Southern Utah, but some don’t always have the knowledge or funding to get their ideas off the ground,” Nielson said. “We wanted to support young people and aspiring entrepreneurs in our community.”
The Nielsons enjoy traveling as a family and creating memories together. Nielson also gives his kids the opportunity to have a voice in his business and charitable endeavors.
“With kids, you get unfiltered feedback,” he said. “My kids have been making decisions on multimillion-dollar projects at Jellystone because that’s the age group we’re targeting.”
Nielson believes that Southern Utah is the perfect place for adventure. But whether his sense of adventure takes him on a cross-country RV trip to see new sights or into the boardroom to broker his next million-dollar business idea, he’ll always come right back to his roots.
“This is home,” he said. “I love Southern Utah.”
Zion Utah Jellystone Park is located at 505 S. Sand Hollow Road in Hurricane. For more information, call 866-934-5267 or visit ZionUtahJellystonePark.com.
Written by ALEXA MORGAN for St. George News.
• S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T •
Resources
- Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort Zion Utah | Address: 505 S. Sand Hollow Road, Hurricane | Telephone: 866-934-5267 | Website.
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