News Releases
Energetic, Community-Oriented Hotelier to Helm Terranea Resort
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. - January 2008 - Rancho Palos Verdes' Terranea Resort is preparing to welcome Terri A. Haack as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the stunning, new resort set to open mid-2009. With her arrival, Terranea Resort and the Palos Verdes community gain an experienced leader with a passion for running an exceptional resort and, just as importantly, serving her community.
Community First
Terri brings to California a long track record of outstanding community involvement. In every community she has lived and worked, Terri has proven to be an invaluable leader whose efforts positively influence those around her. In her most recent post in South Carolina, so appreciated were her contributions that she was presented with a key to the city from Isle of Palms Mayor Mike Sottile. In bidding her farewell, Mayor Sottile read from a resolution that documented Terri's exceptional service including reviving tourism to the area which was depressed after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and continuing after the 9/11 attacks and management of environmental concerns for nesting areas of loggerhead turtles.
"She has been a true asset to the Isle of Palms and Wild Dunes Resort," Sottile said. "She's a real credit to herself and the industry that she serves, so congratulations, God speed and I hope you will come back and visit sometime."
Tourism Industry Pioneer
Terri's professional career is as remarkable as her dedication to the community in which she lives and the industry she serves. From the very beginning, Terri has continually proven to have a keen business acumen that has set her apart from her peers. Her leadership qualities were recognized early when she was the subject of a Denver Post special feature article highlighting her accomplishment as, at the age of 22, youngest general manager of a convention hotel in the nation.
It is exactly that kind of savvy which Terri has shown throughout her nearly 30-year career. In the early 1990's she was one of the first resort executives to see value in the spa industry and ultimately spearheaded the creation of one of the first world-class spas in the country at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, VA.
"Executives with that company were extremely skeptical about the spa concept; they couldn't see the value in Vichy showers and facials," said Haack. "They trusted me enough to go forward with the idea, but it was clear that I was ultimately responsible. Luckily, the story ends well and the spa at Kingsmill continues to be one of the top in the country."
From Virginia, Terri moved to South Carolina to lead the redevelopment of Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston, SC, which had been devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. As Vice President and Regional Managing Director for Destination Hotels & Resorts, Terri reversed declining revenues and helped the resort regain a reputation as a premier meetings and vacation destination.
Prestigious Awards and Accolades
Terri's business and community successes have repeatedly been acknowledged in the form of dozens of awards and accolades over the years. The most recent being the 2007 Resort Executive of the Year. While receiving the recognition is impressive in its own right, just as notable is that Terri is the first woman to be honored in the award's 33-year history.
Sponsored by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell (YPB&R) and the University of Denver, Resort Executive of the Year is given to a resort executive in the U.S. who has not only demonstrated superior management ability, but an active participation in the hospitality industry, as well as their community at large.
"Terri is a role model for women in leadership," said Charles Peck, president and chief operating officer of Destination Hotels & Resorts. "She is a dynamic individual with an instinct for success, whether in the boardroom or out in the community."
Terri holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management. She has been married for nearly 30 years to Doug Haack, a former airline captain and managing owner of Digital PhotoGenics, a commercial photography, editing and graphics company. They have one son, Brian, who is a student in the School of Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California.
Some of Terri's other community service accomplishments include:
- Initiating legislation to benefit the South Carolina hospitality industry
- Instrumental in establishing the Hospitality Association of South Carolina's (HASC) non-profit educational foundation
- Chairman of The Charleston Convention and Visitor's Bureau
- Participation on civic and industry boards of directors including: The College of Charleston Hospitality Board, Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, American Hotel and Lodging Association's (AH&LA) Resort Committee, and the International Resort Managers Association.
- Chairman of Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association
- Vice-Chairman of Sentara Williamsburg Community Hospital
- Chairman of Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce
- Founding board member of the AH&LA's Women in Lodging.
Other notable honors Terri has received include:
- "Hotelier of the Year," Hospitality Association of South Carolina - 2007
- "Top 100 Business Leaders," Irish American Magazine - 2006
- "Most Admired Operators," Golf Inc. Magazine - 2005
- Senatorial Appointment to Citizens Legislative Advisory Group - 2001
- "Tourism Professional of the Year," Williamsburg CVB
- "General Manager of the Year," AH&LA - 1998
- "Business Person of the Year," Boulder, Colorado Chamber of Commerce and CVB - 1991
About Terranea Resort
Slated to open mid-2009, Terranea is set in the grandeur of a Mediterranean estate on the magnificent Palos Verdes peninsula. The 400-room hotel includes guestrooms, suites and bungalows and a host of world-class amenities, all of which take full advantage of this pristine 102-acre oceanfront setting while protecting the area's natural beauty.
Terranea will feature a 24-room destination Spa and hair salon, fitness facility, 138,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, golf on site with a nine-hole short course with practice facility, three pools, children's center, shopping, dining, beach cove and unrivaled recreation including miles of walking and hiking trails with access to an adjacent 300-acre nature preserve. The name Terranea was created to reflect the Mediterranean nature of the resort's coastal setting. These Mediterranean influences will be found throughout the resort's architecture, design and climate, as well as the relaxed sophistication that defines its lifestyle experience. Breathtaking views, dramatic gardens and indulgent amenities will define this classic American oceanfront resort.
Terranea is just 20 miles from the Los Angeles International Airport, and within 30 minutes of many of the sights, culture and offerings of LA, one of the world's largest metropolitan areas and America's second largest city, and 45 minutes to the excitement of Orange County.
About Lowe Enterprises and Destination Hotels & Resorts
Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises is a leading national real estate development, investment and management firm. Over the past 35 years, it has developed, acquired or managed more than $8 billion of real estate assets nationwide. Through Lowe Destination Development, Lowe's hospitality and resort community development subsidiary, the firm is currently developing in excess of $1 billion of hospitality properties nationwide, including the 102-acre Terranea Resort in the Los Angeles' area of Palos Verdes, the 1,040-acre Grizzly Ranch in Portola, Calif., the 700-acre Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif. the 600-room SilverRock Resort in La Quinta, Calif, the 136-unit Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont and the 6,000-acre Suncadia project near Roslyn, Wash. Lowe Enterprises maintains regional offices in Denver, Irvine, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sacramento and Washington D.C. and project offices nationwide.www.LoweDestinationDevelopment.com
Destination Hotels & Resorts is a privately held lodging management company headquartered in suburban Denver, Colo. With more than 30 independent, luxury and upscale hotels, resorts and golf clubs, Destination is the fifth largest independent hospitality management company in the country. The company's portfolio features more than 7,000 guest rooms, 10 golf courses and 11 full-service spas. Destination Hotels & Resorts' properties are located in key metropolitan and resort markets including Washington, D.C., Houston, Denver, Dallas, San Diego, Aspen, Austin, Phoenix, Portland, Palm Springs, Maui and Lake Tahoe. For more information on the properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.destinationhotels.com.
Both LDD and DH&R are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lowe Enterprises at www.LoweEnterprises.com.
Contact:
Lori Kennedy(760) 941-4103
lori_kennedy@hotmail.com





