As our opening date of January 22, 2010 quickly approaches, our management team continues to grow. In my last blog we talked about our newest arrivals to the team, our Director of Food & Beverage, Scott Siebert and our Executive Chef Ryan Littman. Scott and Ryan have been busy at work developing the menus for our banquet rooms and seven dining options here at the Resort. As these menus are developed, our Chef is looking to maximize the use of locally sourced meats, vegetables, and wines. With the rich variety of agriculture we have here, I’m sure we’ll see menus that reflect the true nature of the Texas Hill Country. Scott and Ryan recently visited the Marriott Corporate Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland to prepare items from their menus for our senior corporate leadership. Allow me to brag and share one of those comments I received after the meal … “it was one of the best taste testings we’ve ever experienced.” Great job Scott & Ryan!
Our newest team members are Petro Lemmen, Director of Catering Sales and Greg Higdon, our Senior Catering Sales Manager. I have had the pleasure of working side by side and watching Petro’s passion for excellence over 30 years. Petro has been in San Antonio for over 21 years and is a familiar face to many of our local party and event planners. While Greg is new to San Antonio, he is has an extensive background in creating some of the largest and grandest fundraisers and social events at our sister JW Marriott resort in Tucson, Arizona. Both of these gentlemen are passionate about the food and beverage and bring a level of creativity and knowledge to exceed the highest expectations. As I’ve mentioned, this Resort is not only for travelers from across the State and the Country, but for our friends here in San Antonio. We hope that you will think of us first when planning those special moments in life, from a wedding, to an anniversary party; from a quincera to a bar mitzvah, from annual gala fundraiser to a management meeting.
As Greg and Petro continue their careers here at our beautiful resort, I am working with Cristina Besosa, our Director of Human Resources on developing our hiring and training schedule for the other leaders and over 500 associates that we expect to join our team over the next two months. I’m delighted to see the numerous emails of interest that we receive each day from people looking to begin a career with Marriott. Cristina will be listing every open position on a special website; greatjobs.marriott.com. If you’re looking for a new challenge at one of Texas’ finest resorts, I encourage you to consider a meaningful opportunity here at the JW Marriott.
Our entire management team is looking forward to sharing this fabulous experience with you.
San Antonio: It’s all about Warm Heart …. Authentic Culture
