Willie Docto (left) and Greg Trulson are committed to providing a comfortable, fun, and make-yourself-at-home atmosphere at the Moose Meadow Lodge. The two met in 1992 at a log home B&B in the mountains of West Virginia and have stayed at many B&Bs and log lodges ever since. In 1996, these former Washingtonians moved to Vermont to pursue their dream of owning a B&B. They bought a single-family home on 86 acres, and after a couple of years of research, planning, fishing, hunting and renovating, they opened the Moose Meadow Lodge in October of 1998.
Willie is the Lodge's Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Housekeeping. Greg is the Vice President of the Lobby Shop, Chief Facilities Manager, and Concierge. He'll tell you what to see and where to go (but be sure to ask Willie for the correct directions). Without full-time employees, they end up directing each other.
In addition to innkeeping, Willie owns the only association management company in Vermont and produces festivals, concerts and events. He is also a freelance classical violinist, performing in orchestras in Vermont and Washington, DC. Greg is a former computer systems architect and trainer. He is an accomplished woodworker who created many of the furnishings and rustic decorations in the Lodge. His twig furniture and other works are made with wood from the property. His creations have been commissioned by people from as far as Maryland and Puerto Rico.
Both are very involved with the community. Willie was appointed by Gov. Peter Shumlin and reappointed by Gov. Phil Scott to serve on the Vermont Travel & Recreation Council. He also serves on the board of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. He was the founder of the Vermont Gay Tourism Association, and the Eleva Chamber Players. In his spare time, he plays violin with Eleva, the Vermont Philharmonic and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra. He is also Past President of the Waterbury Tourism Council.
Greg is Treasurer of the Eleva Chamber Players and is an elected Justice of the Peace, For many years he served on the Duxbury Cemetery Commission. Greg officiates at weddings at the Lodge and throughout the state. His motto is: "I can marry you and bury you."
Willie and Greg were named Vermont's "B&B INNKEEPERS OF THE YEAR" in 2005 by the Vermont Lodging & Restaurant Association.
Photo by Kristen Kellogg