Benchmark Appoints Ron Leporati Head Golf Professional
for
Bedford Springs Old Course at Bedford Springs Resort
in Pennsylvania
The
Woodlands (Houston), Texas, June 2007 - Benchmark Hospitality International
has announced the appointment of Ron Leporati as head golf professional
for Bedford Springs Old Course at Bedford Springs Resort, the historic
property dating to 1796 that once served as the Summer White House.
The resort, along with the golf course, is scheduled to reopen this month
following a $120 million restoration and expansion. The property
is located in Bedford, Pennsylvania. Rikki Boparai, general manager
for Benchmark Hospitality at Bedford Springs, made the announcement.
"We welcome Ron to Bedford Springs Resort," said Mr. Boparai.
"This property has a rich 100-year legacy of providing superb golf experiences
to guests. We look forward to his leadership in continuing this tradition
as the property embarks on a new century of golf and hospitality."
Previously Ron Leporati was PGA director of golf for the Hidden Creek
Country Club of Reston, Virginia, a private club located in the Washington,
DC metro area. Before this, he served as the PGA assistant golf professional
for Columbia Country Club of Chevy Chase, Maryland, host site of the 1921
United States Golf Open.
Earlier in his career, Leporati was employed by Benchmark Hospitality
at Lansdowne Resort near Leesburg, Virginia, where he served as assistant
golf professional of the property's Golf Club. He has also worked
as golf shop manager for the Boonsboro Country Club of Lynchburg, Virginia.
Ron Leporati is a graduate of Liberty University, located in Lynchburg,
Virginia, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Sports Management.
He has relocated to Bedford.
About Bedford Springs Resort
The historic Bedford Springs Resort, which dates to 1796, is undergoing
a comprehensive renovation and expansion program to create a 216-guestroom
Four Star-quality destination resort. The property is scheduled to
reopen late June 2007.
The National Historic Landmark resort has hosted such distinguished
guests as Aaron Burr, Daniel Webster, and seven US Presidents, including
James K. Polk, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Ronald Reagan (while
Governor) and James Buchanan, who used Bedford Springs as his Summer White
House. In 1857 in the Grand Lobby, President Buchanan received the first
transatlantic cable from England's Queen Victoria.
A classic 'springs resort' with many of the original buildings and
architectural elements still in place, the restored and expanded Bedford
Springs Resort will feature six restaurants, including the Crystal Dining
Room, the Frontier Tavern, the 1796 Room, Che Sara Sara Cafe, the Turtle
Shell, as well as over 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space with
pre-function areas to accommodate a wide variety of groups. The property
will also feature a restored 1905 swimming pool and solarium - one of the
first in America, and the new Springs Eternal Spa complex, which will total
30,000 square feet and have a full range of treatments designed around
the seven unique springs that are part of the property and the history
of the resort. There will also be a fitness area and a full service salon.
Outdoor amenities include the restoration of the A.W.Tillinghast (1912)
/ Donald Ross (1923) 18-hole golf course and a new pro shop. Ross,
widely considered the father of American golf architecture, re-designed
the Tillinghast course and added his signature features, such as small
greens, serpentine bunkers, doughnut bunkers, false fronts on greens and
more. Also, the resort will offer an outdoor pool, sun decks, a snack
bar, 25 miles of hiking trails, 265 miles of rural mountain biking trails
traversing the 2,200 acres of natural wooded landscape, and the Resort
Rascals children's program.
Additional activities and amenities are an historic outdoor wedding
grotto, spa garden, an outdoor pavilion on Red Oak Lake, fly fishing streams,
river rafting, carriage rides and day excursions and cross country skiing
in season.
Situated on 2,200 acres just outside the charming borough of Bedford
in south central, Pennsylvania, the Bedford Springs Resort is located on
Highway 220, three miles south of Exit 146 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Close to the intersection of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 70,
the resort is a convenient two-hour drive from Baltimore, Washington, DC,
and Pittsburgh, and two and one half hours from Philadelphia and four hours
from New York City. To learn more about Bedford Springs Resort, visit
www.bedfordspringsresort.com. The property is owned by Bedford Resort
Partners, Ltd. Benchmark Hospitality International operates the resort.
Benchmark Hospitality International, an independent hospitality management
company based in The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, operates resorts, conference
centers, hotels and condominium resorts both domestically and internationally.
For locations of Benchmark Hospitality properties and for additional information,
visit Benchmark's Website at www.benchmarkhospitality.com. |