|  |  | | Relationships are the foundation of any successful business........ see what some our saying about our experience..........
"Craig is a proven Sports Marketing Professional. His strong leadership, tireless efforts, creative thinking and relationship-building established one of the greatest Champion’s Tour events ever, the Father Son Golf Challenge. As the title sponsor for the tournament for the first 10 years, we had the chance to work together for five of these years. During this time, we were able to deliver the best hospitality and tournament events ever, host hundreds of customers and partners throughout the years all raving about the event and always wanting to return the following year to participate. Craig has the ability to surround himself with a very professional team and work extremely well with all involved in making each tournament a huge success! It has been a pleasure and an honor to have worked with Craig - he is a true asset."
Laura Simon - Office Depot - Manager, Corporate Events
"I had the pleasure of working with Craig while we hosted the Samsung World Championship at BIGHORN Golf Club in 2002 through 2005. Over that time, we had a great relationship and Craig showed tremendous insight and anticipation in making each event run smoothly. Craig's ability to interface and meet all the demands of sponsors, our Club, the various local charitable organizations, the local visitors bureau and related parties including network television was exceptional. He demonstrated professionalism throughout the events."
Warren Smith - President of BIGHORN Golf Club
"My business experience with Craig has been nothing short of exceptional. We worked together on an event with one of his clients, Samsung, and one of my clients, The Woodlands, in Houston, Texas. It was an LPGA Tour event, everything went off without a hitch and everyone was happy. We couldn't have done it without the help and expertise of Craig Umland. Following that, we partnered on an event that evolved into a corporate outing on the course at Latrobe Country Club with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Our client at the time was a company called Infone. We brought customers to the event and Craig was instrumental in securing Arnold and Gary for the event. We were successful in writing business with the participants as a result of bringing them together with the celebrities. I would recommend Craig for any business opportunity."
Ian Hamilton - Principal at The Hamilton Group Inc and
Owner, The Hamilton Group Inc
I write the following as an endorsement of Craig Umland and the exceptional skills he displayed on behalf of The Woodlands, Texas community in marketing, managing and executing one of the world’s premier events - the Samsung World Championships.
First, some history and context. The Woodlands is one of America’s premier golf destinations and our TPC course was home to the Shell Houston Open PGA event. In 2002, the event moved to a new location and The Woodlands was without national golf exposure for the first time in 25 years. As Vice President of Hospitality & Golf Course Operations, I was tasked with finding a replacement that would continue to build on our golfing tradition and reputation. Enter Craig Umland and IMG. Although there were other golf event opportunities for us to consider, Mr. Umland’s exceptional presentation and negotiation skills won the day. He worked quickly and professionally to ascertain our needs, address our economics, adapt to a unique political landscape and, ultimately, deliver a world class event for our community.
We learned that Craig’s capabilities were numerous and varied. Every detail of our event was masterfully handled from marketing and promotion - including ticket sales and sponsor partnerships - most notably Samsung, to resource and staff deployment - including both golf course/resort personnel and our sizable volunteer organization, to network television and media relationships that resulted in significantly enhancing The Woodland’s local, regional and national golf reputation. Craig was involved in each and every aspect of this event including. His familiarity and élan in handling player relationships, an extremely important part of tournament events, was impressively demonstrated when Craig convinced Annika Sorenstam, at that time one of the world’s most sought after sports celebrities, to make a surprise appearance at a private dinner attended by Woodlands community leaders. The impact on the event was significant.
Lastly, from an economic standpoint first year events rarely pay for themselves. The 2002 Samsung World Championships did return on its year one investment and we credit Craig Umland with creating the platform for that success. Every benchmark we established including gate and sponsor revenues, attendance, media coverage and community support was exceeded. In the end, all who had the privilege of working with Craig felt the same. Like the tournament he represented, Craig Umland’s marketing and management performance was world class as well.
Sincerely,
Bob Nelson
Vice President of Hospitality & Golf Operations
The Woodlands Operating Company
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