Wilhelm Tell shoots a head bird

The winner of the third Cristal Prize from Unizo Oudsbergen has been announced! The Wilhelm Tell leisure center, owned by Lode Nulmans and Helga Roex, can call itself the local entrepreneur of 2023.

Lode Nulmans and his wife Helga Roex, together with their team and three daughters, run the only 5-star camping site in Flanders recognized by the Flanders Tourism Board. Started as a sole proprietorship in 1968, thanks to hard work, perseverance, passion, courage, continuous investment and innovation, the business in Oudsbergen has developed into a tourist gem.

Their recreational accommodation consists of seasonal and annual pitches, rental apartments and chalets and a camping site with air conditioning. Camping sanitary facilities make a unique difference with bathrooms with jacuzzi and jets. For daytime relaxation, there is an indoor pool, playground and outdoor heated water paradise, complete with well-maintained catering facilities.

Wilhelm Tell has just won the Cristal Award as the best company in Oudsbergen, beating other nominees Nelis Wegenbouw, Pilates Body Center and L-Int Interior Architecture. Naturally, the incomplete winners also received huge admiration from the judges for their daily leadership and enthusiasm.

“As an organization of independent entrepreneurs, we believe it is important to put entrepreneurship in the spotlight,” says Barbara Driessen, Chair of the Board of Directors of Unizo Oudsbergen. “This award is a tribute to Wilhelm Tell Recreational Resort, but above all a huge boost to all entrepreneurs in our municipality.”

Comedian Armand Schruers asked for a standing ovation from the children of Lud and Helga while presenting the Crystal Award. Because, according to Armand Schreurs, letting the three girls do the work was the key to Wilhelm Tell's success….

In addition to the Crystal Award, the Unizo Oudsbergen Board of Directors also presented a Lifetime Achievement Award: Mia Wertelaers, known as Mieke Boem, the 85-year-old manager of the Moonlight Café in Opglabbeek, was allowed to take home this award – completely unexpectedly. Mieke Boem has been running the café with “the best customers in the world” for over 65 years. The saying “the older the wiser” is on her door… and it must be true when suddenly Rammstein's voice booms through the moonlight speakers… her secret? “I love all the clients,” she says.