11-13-2026 12:45am

How Two High School Sweethearts Built Kalahari With Their Five Children

John Williams Editor

A relief map of Africa anchors an artwork display at Kalahari Resorts Spotsylvania. Photo by John L. Williams / The Spotsylvania Gazette.

By John L. Williams, Editor, The Spotsylvania Gazette

THORNBURG, Va. — Inside the new Kalahari resort in Spotsylvania County, a relief map of Africa hangs among paintings, carvings and woven baskets. The display tells part of the story of Todd and Shari Nelson, the Wisconsin couple whose travels helped shape the resorts they built with their five children. (kalahariresorts.com⁠, kalaharimedia.com⁠, fredericksburgfreepress.com⁠)

Kalahari officials, Spotsylvania County leaders and other community guests are expected to gather today, Friday, Nov. 13, for the resort’s grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting. The Thornburg resort began welcoming guests Thursday. It is the Nelson family’s fifth Kalahari and its first in Virginia. (fredericksburgfreepress.com⁠, spotsylvaniagazette.town.news⁠, spotsylvania.va.us⁠)

A partnership that began in high school

Shari Nelson was born and raised in Wisconsin Dells, where she met Todd Nelson in a high school driver’s education class. Todd grew up on a farm there and began working a variety of jobs at 15, according to Kalahari’s company history. The two worked together from their high school years. They ran a saloon and opened Pizza Pub in their hometown in 1983. (kalahariresorts.com⁠, kalahariresorts.com⁠, kalaharimedia.com⁠, kalahariresorts.com⁠, wisconsin.ja.org⁠)

In 2000, Shari and Todd opened the first Kalahari in the community where they grew up. They expanded to Sandusky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, then opened their fourth resort in Round Rock, Texas, in 2020. Todd serves as Kalahari’s chief executive. Junior Achievement of Wisconsin inducted both founders into the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame in 2023. (kalahariresorts.com⁠, wisconsin.ja.org⁠, kalahariresorts.com⁠)

Five children and a family business

Todd and Shari raised five children — Todd Jr., Travis, Natasha, and twins Alissa and Ashley. Kalahari’s family history credits all five with helping build the business. In the company’s published profile, Todd described his proudest accomplishment as “working with my kids and our incredible team.” (kalahariresorts.com⁠)

Shari also serves as vice president of the Todd and Shari Nelson Family Foundation, according to federal tax filings. The foundation has supported education, youth development and human services. Junior Achievement also cites the family’s support for the Wisconsin Dells High School marching band, the University of Wisconsin’s Carbone Cancer Center, charity: water and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. (projects.propublica.org⁠, causeiq.com⁠, wisconsin.ja.org⁠)

From the family’s travels to Thornburg

Kalahari says the Nelsons have returned to Africa over the years to visit communities and buy work from artisans. The company displays handcrafted pieces and plays music by African artists at its resorts. The Fredericksburg Free Press reported that Todd and Shari invested $5.5 million in African artwork for the Spotsylvania property. (kalaharimedia.com⁠, fredericksburgfreepress.com⁠)

Spotsylvania County lists 907 guest rooms and a 175,000-square-foot indoor waterpark at the resort, near Dominion Raceway off Interstate 95. For visitors walking past that map of Africa, the artwork offers a glimpse of the travels that shaped a business that began with two high school classmates in Wisconsin. (spotsylvania.va.us⁠, kalahariresorts.com⁠, kalaharimedia.com⁠)