Megan Page is the general manager at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery, but her influence in the community reaches far beyond food quality and customer service. Megan also changes lives.
At the auctions we host frequently at Patrick’s—to benefit local nonprofits or community members battling an illness or crisis—Megan is there, front and center, making sure everything runs smoothly.
And when it’s time for Patrick’s Pub Mania, a fundraiser for the Lakes Region Children’s Auction, Megan serves for each of the 24-plus, around-the-clock hours as Co-owner Allan Beetle’s right-hand woman. She trouble-shoots problems, acts as disc jockey for the karaoke and lip-sync hour, and doesn’t stop moving, thinking, or solving until the bar stools are empty.
These experiences are helping to transform Megan into a seasoned leader, but she also actively pursues professional growth. She graduated in 2013 from the Leadership Lakes Region’s eight-month program. She has attended Landmark Worldwide seminars, and she joined the board of directors for the Lakes Region Child Care Services last May.
“Since working at Patrick’s, I have come to realize how important it is to give back,” says Megan, who lives in Meredith. “The pub’s owners, Allan and Jeff Beetle, taught me that, and they instill that in the culture of Patrick’s.”
Building leaders and boosting employees, so they can, in turn, boost the community, is part of the Patrick’s mantra. It’s something that Megan has seen firsthand, ever since she joined the Patrick’s team as a server in 2002.
“Allan and Jeff will do anything for the community and for their employees,” she says. “I definitely consider them family. I can call Allan at any time of day, whether it’s about work or something personal, and he’ll help me. It’s exciting to work for people who are so giving.”
At Patrick’s, Megan has worked up the ranks from server to floor manager, dining room manager, and assistant general manager. In 2010, Allan was the restaurant’s general manager, but he relinquished his position to Megan, seeing great potential in her.
“Megan is an extraordinary person, and we are very grateful to have her leading the restaurant and staff,” Allan says. “Perseverance, fun, loyalty, and honesty are all words I’d use to describe her. It’s been very rewarding to see her develop into the leader she is today.”
Because there is no ceiling for Allan on personal or professional growth, he encouraged Megan to sign up for the local leadership program and the seminars. “Allan’s always pushing me to become a better leader and pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Megan says. “Enrolling in the Leadership Lakes Region program was a great way to get a little more involved in the community.”
Having also participated in a Landmark Worldwide seminar himself, Allan recommended Megan attend a forum in Boston in 2004. “I went thinking it would be for work and would be about making me a better manager, even though Allan told me it’s not really about that,” Megan recalls. Instead, the program helped on a personal level, allowing Megan to mend her relationship with her ailing father. After his death just a few months later, Megan went to another Landmark class, where she was able to talk openly about her dad.
“I believe that I was meant to be at Patrick’s, and I was meant to go to that forum,” she says. “It completely changed my life.”
Becoming a mother was also life-changing. In 2015, 4-year-old Brooke came into Megan’s life as a foster daughter; in 2017, Megan adopted the child. Becoming a mother has given Megan a passion for issues around child care, hence the move to join the Lakes Region Child Care Services board, which oversees day cares, after-school programs, and preschools.
By taking Brooke, now 7, along with her when she volunteers in the community—at The Dry Dock food pantry, for instance—Megan is also passing the torch. “I’m trying to get her as involved as I am and instill the importance of community service in her at a young age,” Megan says. “I want to pass on to her this desire to give back that Allan and Jeff have given to me.”