Benchmark Appoints Jean Spaulding Director of Sales & Marketing For Villas of Grand Cypress

ÒIt is with great pleasure that I welcome Jean to Benchmark and to Villas of Grand Cypress,Ó said Mr. Cox.ÊÊÒShe comes to us extremely qualified and with extraordinary leadership skills. Her connections within the industry will serve our resort well and we look forward to her active role in our senior leadership team.Ó

Jean Spaulding brings stellar experience to her new role at Villas of Grand Cypress. She most recently served as director of sales & marketing for the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

Ms. Spaulding has held senior executive roles with Omni Hotels and Resorts, Noble Investment Group, Interstate Hotels and Resorts, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels, ITT Sheraton, Westin Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons Hotels. This experience included positions with revenue and marketing responsibilities for owned and managed properties; as well as responsibilities for developing sales organizational programs, including sales recruitment, training, motivation, retention and incentive plan programs. Additionally, her experience includes destination marketing where she held positions as vice president of tourism marketing for the Greater Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and vice president of convention sales for the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Jean Spaulding has previously been named a ÒMost Powerful Women in TravelÓ byÊTravel Agent MagazineÊand has been inducted into the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Hall of Fame. She has been an active member of HSMAI throughout her career, including serving in the position of president of the Washington DC Chapter. Spaulding has served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, on the Customer Advisory Board for Newmarket International, and most recently on the Board of Directors of Experience Kissimmee, the destination marketing organization for Osceola County, Florida.

Ms. Spaulding attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk,Virginia.ÊÊShe resides in Orlando.