September 2009 Developments - 66

Anniversary Anniversary ry nine resorts, 65,000 timeshare owners, and nearly 700 employees. With a consistent emphasis on family, it has been named to the Orlando Sentinel’s “Top 100 Companies For Working Families” list every year since 2002. There are several other secondgeneration Island One employees, including Sulyn Stumbras, RRP, president of Island One Resorts Hospitality Group and Club Navigo, daughter of Bruce Stumbras, who holds the ﬁrst ARDA RRP. Bruce started in the industry in the late 1970s at Lighthouse Cove in South Florida, meeting Jack and Deborah through RCI. He became project director for their ﬁrst Orlando development, Orbit One. In-house Marketing Rep Charles Carlson is Jack Springer’s grandson and Deborah’s nephew. Senior VP Sales & Marketing Ken Campbell, RRP, is the father of Marketing Admin Manager Jason Campbell. “It is a testament to this industry’s strong foundation and solid future that children are now following in their parents’ footsteps, opting for a professional career in the vacation ownership industry,” said Deb. resigned to pursue the formation of Grand Vacations—which ultimately became a joint venture between the McMullens and Al TenBroek and Bob Taylor (principals of the Mariner Group). In 1991, Hilton Hotels Corporation formed Hilton Grand Vacations Company (HGVC) as a joint venture between Grand Vacations Ltd. (GVL) and Hilton Hotels Corporation. In 1996, Hilton Hotels Corporation bought out the partner interests of GVL in HGVC. Between 1997 and 2003, Ed and his sons formed a joint venture with Shell Vacations and by 2004, the trio had become involved in the development of a luxury fractional ownership resort in Destin, Florida. “Senior” (as he is often called) treasures the closeness of working with his sons and has often said, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life!” years, selling at a Shawnee resort (The Yachtsman Resort, Myrtle Beach, S.C.). It was “Take-Your-Kids-to-Work Day,” and she invited Jeff to come to work with her. He went along begrudgingly. “Actually, she had to drag me by the ear,” reminisces Jeff. After the morning sales meeting, Peggy took Jeff on a few tours. Before the day was over, she had sold three sets of customers, one right after the other, with Jeff tagging along. After the sales closed, she asked her son if this was something he thought he could do. He decided to give it a try. In 1991, he took a semester off from school and started his career with Fairﬁeld in 1991, never looking back. Now, he leads the sales division for the biggest timeshare company in the world. “Here we are more than 20 years later,” he says, “and it has been an unbelievable journey. Thanks, Mom!” Ed Jr. & Malcolm Since the early 90’s, the McMullen sons have worked in a variety of positions within the industry, inside and outside of the family-owned businesses. They both consider it an honor to have been able to work together during this time. They now joke that Ed Sr., and Ed Jr., were positioned to make all the promises in the sales process, and Malcolm (with his CPA) had to ﬁgure out how to deliver them! There was a time in the early 80’s when the McMullen father-son pair and the Burns’ father-son pair were not working well together in the family business. So, the two dads decided the best thing to do was to temporarily trade sons, since both had ambitions within the industry. This gave both sons a chance to grow and gain experience, while eliminating any tensions. All offspring involved say today that this decision provided them a wonderful grooming opportunity. The Ten Broeks Allen In close geographic proximity to Keith, developers Allen Ten Broek and Bob Taylor founded The Mariner Group in Florida in 1972, opening their ﬁrst interval resort in 1976 and ultimately developing 16 Southwest Florida properties serving 20,000 owners. The company also built condominiums and residential communities and owned a real estate/ construction company, a major furnishings retailer (Robb & Stucky), and the famed South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island. Recognizing the need to expand their timeshare market, in 1991, Al teamed up with Ed McMullen to form a company that became Hilton Grand Vacations Company, selling their shares in 1996. Hilton joined Marriott and Disney as the third major brand name to enter the timeshare industry, generating much-needed credibility and positive exposure to the business. Since then, Al has helped develop a Caribbean property, Old Bahama Bay located on Grand Bahama Island. The McMullens Ed Sr. Following a career in real estate and other industries, Ed McMullen Sr., RRP, founded American Resorts in 1976, developing four timeshare resorts on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He had heard about timesharing from his business involvement with Keith Trowbridge and Kenn Keim and was intrigued by the concept. In 1984, Marriott Corporation purchased American Resorts, forming the basis of MVCI. Ed continued as EVP of Marriott until 1990, when he 66 The Myers In a Wyndham second-generation story, Jeff Myers, executive VP & chief sales & marketing ofﬁcer for Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO), was in college in 1988, working part-time as a bartender. His mom, Peggy Myers, had been in timeshare sales for ﬁve Bryan “When I graduated from college, getting involved in the resort industry seemed like a natural ﬁt, considering my upbringing,” says Bryan Ten Broek, ARP. Developments • September 2009

September 2009 Developments

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2009 Developments