The Yard FLX in Watkins Glen, New York, is more than a family entertainment destination.
It is an 18-acre property built around mini-golf, a driving range, go-karts, yard games, live music, events, and the kind of shared experiences that bring people together.
For Aimee Barton, President of The Yard FLX, the vision has always been bigger than offering things to do. She wanted to create a place where families could gather, kids could play, local organizations could host events, and the community could connect in a fun, accessible setting.
That idea came from a visit to Dallas with friends, where Aimee experienced a vibrant communal space that sparked something bigger. She saw how a well-designed destination could bring people together, and she wanted to bring that same kind of energy back to her own community.
Her goal was to revive a local property with a long history and turn it into a gathering hub for Watkins Glen and the surrounding Finger Lakes region. Today, The Yard FLX reflects that mission: a place where families, visitors, local businesses, schools, and community organizations can come together around fun.
Aimee’s role as a community connector
Before launching The Yard FLX, Aimee spent 25 years in the mortgage industry, where she built experience in marketing, customer service, and understanding what motivates people. That background helps explain how she approaches The Yard FLX today.
She is not just operating an entertainment venue. She is building a community-centered business.
The Yard FLX regularly creates opportunities for people to connect, whether through family activities, live events, charity initiatives, school and community programming, or local business partnerships. Aimee also hosts local Chamber events at the property, giving business owners and community leaders a place to network, collaborate, and build relationships.
That matters because local businesses can play a real role in strengthening a community. When a place like The Yard FLX gives people a reason to gather, it becomes more than a destination. It becomes part of the local ecosystem.
Aimee’s leadership is rooted in that belief. She wants The Yard FLX to be a place where fun is accessible, relationships are built, and the community benefits from people coming together.
Why the guest experience matters
For an entertainment business, the facility itself is part of the experience. Guests notice whether a space feels bright, inviting, safe, and easy to move through. They may not think about the lighting directly, but they feel the impact of it.
That was one of the reasons The Yard FLX wanted to upgrade its lighting. The business was focused on creating a brighter, more welcoming atmosphere across the property while also reducing rising energy costs. As a venue built around fun and guest experience, reliable lighting was important, but a full upgrade seemed financially out of reach.
Through OEO Energy Solutions’ no-cost LED upgrade program, funded entirely by utility rebates, The Yard FLX received more than $10,000 worth of LED lighting products at no upfront cost.
The upgrade helped create a brighter space for guests, reduce maintenance needs, and deliver 65% annual energy savings.
For The Yard FLX, this was not only about cutting costs. It was about improving the environment where guests spend time, where families make memories, and where community events happen.
A practical upgrade that supported the bigger vision
The best facility upgrades solve more than one problem. For The Yard FLX, the LED project helped improve guest experience, reduce long-term energy use, lower maintenance needs, and protect the business from a major upfront expense.
That kind of outcome is especially important for a seasonal, experience-driven business. Every dollar saved on energy can stay closer to the things guests actually experience, including attractions, events, maintenance, staffing, and future improvements.
The project also aligned with Aimee’s larger goal for the property. If The Yard FLX is going to serve as a local gathering place, the facility needs to feel welcoming and well cared for. Better lighting helps support that.
It makes the space brighter. It makes outdoor areas more usable and inviting. It helps the venue feel more polished. And it allows the business to operate more efficiently behind the scenes.
Making the process simple
One of the biggest barriers to facility upgrades is not always interest. Many business owners know they need to improve lighting, lower costs, or modernize their space. The challenge is finding the time, budget, and right partner to make it happen.
For The Yard FLX, OEO delivered a turnkey LED upgrade that included rebate support, product coordination, and a facility-wide installation with minimal disruption to operations. The program allowed the business to move forward without a financial burden and without getting stuck in complicated paperwork.
Aimee described the experience this way:
“Wonderful service and great results! Everyone we dealt with made the process so simple it was almost hard to believe it was real. The upgraded lighting has really brightened the space for our guests, and we couldn’t be happier.”
That kind of feedback is important because it speaks to the process as much as the result. A successful upgrade should not create more work for the people running the business. It should make it easier for them to improve the facility and keep focusing on their customers.
A stronger space for guests and the community
The Yard FLX shows how energy efficiency can support both business operations and community impact.
The lighting upgrade helped the facility become brighter and more efficient, but the bigger story is what that improvement supports. It supports a place where families gather. It supports events and local partnerships. It supports a business that wants to be part of the community, not just located in it.
Aimee has built The Yard FLX around the belief that fun should be accessible and that local businesses can help bring people together. Hosting Chamber events, supporting community activities, and creating a destination for families are all part of that vision.
The LED upgrade fits naturally into that work because it made the space more inviting while helping the business operate more sustainably.
A model for community-centered businesses
The Yard FLX is a strong example of what smarter facility leadership can look like for an experience-driven business.
A brighter space can improve how guests feel when they arrive. A more efficient building can reduce energy waste. Lower operating costs can help protect the business. A smoother upgrade process can make important improvements easier to complete.
For entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels, sports facilities, schools, nonprofits, and community spaces, these decisions matter. They affect the customer experience, the team’s day-to-day work, the operating budget, and the long-term sustainability of the facility.
That is the purpose of The Smarter Facility Leaders Series.
We are highlighting leaders and organizations making practical facility decisions with real impact for their guests, teams, operations, and communities.
The Yard FLX shows that a smarter upgrade does not have to be complicated or expensive to make a difference. Sometimes, it helps strengthen something already meaningful: a local business built to bring people together.