2003-2004 Bill 4811: Marty Wall, Joe Whitmore, Woodland Resort and Inn - South Carolina

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 115th Session, 2003-2004 3 4 H. 4811 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsors: Reps. Chellis, Young, Bailey and Harrell 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22466htc04.doc 11 12 Introduced in the House on February 19, 2004 13 Introduced in the Senate on February 24, 2004 14 Adopted by the General Assembly on February 24, 2004 15 16 Summary: Marty Wall, Joe Whitmore, Woodland Resort and Inn 17 18 19 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 20 21 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 22 2/19/2004 House Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-54 23 2/24/2004 Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-13 24 25 26 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 27 28 2/19/2004 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND CONGRATULATE WOODLANDS 12 RESORT AND INN, IN SUMMERVILLE, AND ITS STAFF, 13 ALONG WITH MANAGER, MARTY WALL, AND OWNER, 14 JOE WHITMORE, ON ITS UNPRECEDENTED MOBIL 15 TRAVEL GUIDE FIVE STAR RATING AND AAA FIVE 16 DIAMOND TRAVEL RATING. 17 18 Whereas, it is with great pleasure that we recognize South 19 Carolinians who are dedicated to giving their time and energy to 20 improve tourism and comfort to the people of the Palmetto State; 21 and 22 23 Whereas, it is appropriate to recognize the great achievements and 24 lasting service of the people who work to provide memorable 25 experiences and the comforts of home to the visitors to our State; 26 and 27 28 Whereas, in 1906 Robert W. Parsons bought 100 acres of land just 29 outside the Town Square in Summerville, and constructed his 30 family’s winter home, known as Woodlands; and 31 32 Whereas, in 1993, the property was sold to present owner, Joe 33 Whitmore of New York and Martha’s Vineyard, and Mr. 34 Whitmore began an eighteen-month restoration and reconstruction 35 process which resulted in a reflection of English, Indian, and 36 Jamaican styles that can be seen throughout Woodlands interior 37 design; and 38 39 Whereas, Joe Whitmore’s Woodlands Resort and Inn opened to the 40 public in May 1995 as a luxury inn featuring nineteen 41 well-appointed rooms, a day spa, pavilion conference facility, two

1 [4811] 1 1 English clay tennis courts, swimming pool, croquet lawn, and 2 wedding garden; and 3 4 Whereas, one of the most prestigious travel and lodging awards, 5 the Mobil Travel Guide Five Star rating was awarded to only 43 6 out of 19,000 travel facilities, and of those 43, only 13 facilities 7 received the rating for dining and 30 for lodging with Woodlands 8 Resort and Inn capturing the five star rating in both categories; and 9 10 Whereas, there are two major industry awards for travel 11 institutions, the AAA Five Diamond rating and the Mobile Travel 12 Guide Five Star rating, and Woodlands Resort and Inn now 13 proudly holds both titles; and 14 15 Whereas, the AAA Five Diamond rating was awarded to 105 out 16 of 45,000 facilities in 2003 and out of those 105, Woodlands 17 Resort and Inn was one of the only five facilities receiving the 18 award for both dining and lodging; and 19 20 Whereas, General Manager Marty Wall and his staff have 21 maintained the AAA Five Diamond rating for seven consecutive 22 years for dining and six consecutive years for lodging, but have 23 been striving towards their goal of obtaining the Mobil Travel 24 Guide Five Star rating for some time and their hard work and 25 dedication to their visitors has paid off; and 26 27 Whereas, the AAA award and the Mobil Travel Guide award bring 28 both national and international recognition to the beautiful 29 community of Summerville, the Tri-County area and the State of 30 South Carolina, making Woodlands Resort and Inn a world-class 31 luxury accommodation for travelers in North America; and 32 33 Whereas, the staff of Woodlands Resort and Inn, General Manager 34 Marty Wall, and owner, Joe Whitmore, provide world-class 35 service for their guests and are committed to providing world-class 36 recognition to the community of Summerville as well; and 37 38 Whereas, achievement of the Mobil Travel Guide Five Star rating 39 puts Woodlands Resort and Inn among only three other facilities in 40 all of North America to earn these prestigious ratings, and these 41 ratings prove that the Woodlands Resort and Inn is one of the most 42 distinguished travel locations in the country; and 43

1 [4811] 2 1 Whereas, the State of South Carolina is proud and honored to have 2 such distinction brought to this State, and commend both the staff 3 and its General Manager, Marty Wall, on providing world-class 4 service with a little taste of southern charm. Now, therefore, 5 6 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives: 7 8 That the members of the House of Representatives of the State of 9 South Carolina, by this resolution, recognize and congratulate 10 Woodlands Resort and Inn, in Summerville, and its staff, along 11 with General Manager, Marty Wall, and owner, Joe Whitmore, on 12 its unprecedented Mobil Travel Guide Five Star Rating and AAA 13 Five Diamond Travel Rating. 14 15 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to 16 Marty Wall and Joe Whitmore of the Woodlands Resort and Inn in 17 Summerville, South Carolina. 18 ----XX---- 19

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