People – Clubs & Resorts

Peter J. Watzka was recently named Executive Vice President and COO of The Ritz-Carlton Development Company, LLC. Previously Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, Watzka began working in the resort real estate industry in 1972. Later, he served as VP of the Byrne Corporation, a resort developer in Hilton Head Island, S.C. He then became President of Performance Marketing Group, based in Newport, R.I.

Frits van Paasschen, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Coors Brewing Company, has joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Coors, van Paasschen spent seven years at Nike, Inc., responsible for increasing revenues from $2.5 billion to nearly $4 billion over a four-year period.

Allan Farwell has been named General Manager of Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas and Spa in Indian Wells, Calif. Farwell has served as GM at luxury and flagship Hyatt properties in California, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. In other appointments at the resort, Joe Alegre has been named Director of Sales & Marketing. Alegre most recently directed sales and marketing efforts at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.  

Paul Malanson has been appointed by KemperSports as General Manager of the Country Club of the North, in Beaver Creek, Ohio, near Dayton. Previously, Malanson had been General Manager of Windermere Country Club near Orlando

Reggie Hunter has joined The Bahama House and Best Western Aku Tiki Inn in Daytona, Fla., as Golf Sales Manager. Most recently, Hunter was Tournament Director at the LPGA for 9 years.

Jeffrey Berger has returned to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa as Project Director, where he served for five years before accepting a position at Kapalua Bay in Maui, Hawaii. Berger, who first joined The Ritz-Carlton Club in 2000, has also worked for Dallas-based ClubCorp.

Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla., has named Rahim Ryan Kahn Tennis Director. Kahn has more than 14 years of experience as a tennis pro and instructor at top U.S. clubs, such as Saddlebrook International Tennis Academy and Resort in Tampa.

Celebration Golf Club has made several new appointments: Steve Boyle, formerly at Falcon Fire Golf Course, has been named F&B Director; Robin Joyce, formerly Banquet Manager, has been promoted to Assistant F&B Director; Stephen Horne, recently affiliated with The Golf Channel, has been named Director of Events; and former Assistant Golf Pro Tano Malentin is now Golf Shop Manager.

People – Suppliers

Ellen Glenn Golden, ASID, has joined Butler Rogers Baskett as a Principal in the South Norwalk, Conn., office. Prior to joining BRB, Ms. Golden was a Principal with Perkins Eastman Architects.

Buffalo Communications has named Stephen Reynolds Public Relations Specialist. Before joining the company, and in addition to his experience helping to operate a PGA TOUR event, Reynolds was an attorney with the United States Broadcasting Board of Governors and GEICO Insurance Company.