�Craig has met and exceeded all of our expectations,� said Elaine Sammons, Chairman of the Board of Sammons Enterprises, Inc. �We are proud of the work he has done. We have confidence in him, he has brought the resort to a higher level, increased occupancy and guided us into a new era.�

Appointed General Manager in September 1999, Madison�s first task was executing the vision of hotel owner Elaine D. Sammons for the resort into the 21st Century.  He has overseen the completion of a three-year, $64 million property improvement program, which included a restoration of the resort�s century-old, Donald Ross-designed golf course, guest room renovations and building of the $42-million, 40,000 square-foot Spa.  The Spa, considered one of the finest in North America, opened on February 28,2001. Other Physical and managerial improvements to the resort are ongoing, under Madison�s guidance.

Madison, 45, is Board Chairman for the International Resort Managers Association, Chairman of the North Carolina Lodging Association, and a Board Member of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, the North Carolina Travel & Tourism Coalition, the North Carolina Restaurant Association, and the Advantage West Regional Economic Partnership.  He helped found the North Carolina Golf Alliance, and coordinated the resort�s hosting of the North Carolina Governor�s Conference on Travel &Tourism in 1997 and 2001.