Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company: Enriching a Legacy

When people hear “Hershey”, only two things come to mind – the delightful, melt-in-your-mouth, rich chocolate or the gigantic family-theme park located in Pennsylvania.

But Hershey means so much more than that.

When Milton S. Hershey went back to his hometown in 1903, he only had but one vision – to create the world’s first state-of-the-art chocolate factory. However, Hershey was not satisfied with building just one factory, so he took a pretty active role in the community that sprouted around him. He constructed a “true hometown” complete with all kinds of shops, schools and the “Hershey Park” where employees of his chocolate factory can relax and have fun with their families and friends. He even founded a school and an orphanage, bestowing them with his massive fortune. A few years after that, when the United States suffered greatly during the Great Depression, Hershey created several jobs for his town’s citizens by putting together an arena, community center, theater, stadium and the magnificent, European-style, five-star hotel – The Hotel Hershey.

Since the chocolate magnate did not only own a colossal chocolate factory, but many of community’s business and utilities as well, he decided to divide his chocolate manufacturing operation from the rest of his enterprises. All of these non-sweets related divisions were identified under the company name, The Hershey Estates.

Today, the Hershey Estates is already known as the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (HERCO), employing more than 1,650 full-time employees and another 7,400 working part-time.  It has become a first-class hospitality and entertainment corporation operating several amusement parks and resorts, all of which cater to millions of happy guests in a year. Ever since its establishment more than a century ago, HERCO has enhanced the legacy left behind by Milton S. Hershey and at the same time, remained profitable and competitive in the industry in which they operate. Not only that, the company also strives to create long-lasting relationships with the community they work with through a reservoir of expertise and talent that has the capability to make a difference in the world.