Darien Lake has New GM

DARIEN CENTER — A Toronto native who helped revitalize a southern Georgia theme park was named Tuesday to lead Darien Lake Theme and Water Park Resort.

Bob Montgomery, who began his new position Tuesday, will oversee all aspects of Darien Lake as the park’s new vice president and general manager. He has worked more than 10 years for Herschend Family Entertainment, the company about to begin its second season managing Darien Lake for CNL Lifestyles Properties.

The management change also saw former general manager Christopher Thorpe named assistant general manager and the hiring of a new director of marketing for Darien Lake.

“These new additions to our management team will help attract new visitors to the area and also provide a better experience to our loyal guests,” said Cassandra Okon, the park’s public relations manager.

Montgomery’s move has been in the works for several months, according to a corporate spokeswoman for Herschend.

He arrived at Darien Lake last August, taking the title of executive director of property development. He was there to work with Thorpe and begin an internal transition that led to the general manager title, said Fatima Mehdikarimi, Herschend’s corporate spokesman.

Thorpe, as assistant general manager, will report directly to Montgomery and be responsible for employee development and relations. Thorpe, a South Buffalo native, had been general manager since March 2008, when he took over for Bradley Y. Paul, who retired after 16 years as the park’s general manager.

“Bob will strengthen the staff at Darien Lake and provide strong leadership. He can bring a fresh perspective and enhance the appeal of the park. I think Chris can learn a lot under him,” said Paul Ruben, North American editor of Park World, an industry trade publication.

Herschend, like many theme park chains, moves management personnel among its parks to provide them experiences with different kinds of —and often larger and larger – attractions, Ruben said.

The variety of accommodations and entertainment offerings at Darien Lake was a factor in Herschend’s reassignment of Montgomery, Mehdikarimi said.

“We felt Bob is the right fit for this park,” she said, “and it’s closer to his Canadian roots.”

Montgomery, a University of Toronto graduate, has more than 25 years experience in the entertainment and tourism industry.

“The combination of entertainment and accommodations offered at Darien Lake are unique in the industry, and I am excited about this opportunity,” Montgomery said in a news release.

“The community has a lot of enthusiasm for Darien Lake, and I look forward to leading this great vacation destination, especially as we introduce three new family rides this year,” he said.

Montgomery comes to Darien Lake from Wild Adventures, a Herschend-owned theme, water and animal park in Valdosta, Ga., near the state’s border with Florida. He had spent most of the past four seasons at the 170-acre park, which experienced a resurgence after Herschend bought the financially-troubled property at auction in 2007.

Herschend, with Montgomery as the park’s vice president, invested $6 million in the park in the first two years, including building the region’s biggest water park and upgrading the park’s four restaurants. The company also added hundreds of trees, and more shade, landscaping and walkways. Coaster enthusiasts and industry observers have noted an improved overall guest experience at the property, which has become one of North America’s top attractions with more than 1 million visitors annually. (Darien Lake, in recent years, has struggled to reach the 1 million visitors threshold, a number it once consistently surpassed, according to industry observers.)

“I think he did a good job there and he will be good for Darien Lake,” said Ruben, the Park World editor.

Montgomery started with Herschend in the spring of 2001 as vice president of Branson Attractions in Branson, Mo. He later became chief operating officer of Herschend’s Ride the Ducks International, an amphibious tour operating in several cities. In September 2007, he moved to Wild Adventures.

Prior to joining Herschend, Montgomery worked with The LEGO Group, opening parks in the United Kingdom and California, led the development and construction of Legoland in Gunzberg, Germany, and conceived many projects in the LEGO parks. He also had senior management positions in two of Canada’s top tourism attractions: director of operations at Toronto’s C.N. Tower and director of attractions at Canada’s Wonderland, north of Toronto.

Darien Lake also announced Tuesday the appointment of Steve Hallowell as director of marketing. Hallowell, a Rochester native, has 25 years experience in marketing. He formerly worked at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, most recently as director of consumer experience marketing.

“I look forward to working with the marketing team and the Buffalo and Rochester communities to attract even more guests to our park and accommodations,” Hallowell said in the news release. “As the father of two teenage boys who love to visit the park with their friends, this job definitely promotes me to cool dad.”

Hallowell replaces Linda Taylor who, “after a long career with the park … decided to go in a new direction,” Okon, the park’s public relations manager said. Taylor is no longer with the park.

The moves follow a tumultuous 2011 season for Darien Lake. In July, an Iraq War veteran fell to his death from the Ride of Steel roller coaster. The ride, the park’s most popular attraction, was shut down for more than two weeks while the death was investigated and closed for the season in August after  the ride’s lift chain broke.

“Bob is an experienced veteran,” Ruben said, “who will help Darien Lake recover from the difficulties they encountered last season.”

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Original story:

DARIEN — Darien Lake Theme & Water Park Resort announced Tuesday that Bob Montgomery is its new vice president and general manager.

Montgomery has worked for more than 10 years for Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE), Darien’s Lake’s management company.

“The combination of entertainment and accommodations offered at Darien Lake are unique in the industry, and I am excited about this opportunity,” Montgomery said in a news release.

Montgomery will oversee all aspects of the park.

“The community has a lot of enthusiasm for Darien Lake, and I look forward to leading this great vacation destination, especially as we introduce three new family rides this year,” he stated.

Prior to working at HFE, Montgomery served as vice president of operations and development at Legoland, director of operations at Toronto’s C.N. Tower and director of attractions at Canada’s Wonderland.

The C.N. Tower and Wonderland are among the top tourism attractions in Canada.

Montgomery’s most recent position before the Darien Lake job was vice president and general manager of Wild Adventures, also an HFE property.

Former Darien Lake general manager Chris Thorpe is now the park’s assistant general manager and reports directly to Montgomery. Thorpe is responsible for employee development and relations.

Darien Lake also announced Tuesday the appointment of Steve Hallowell as director of marketing. Hallowell has 25 years experience in marketing and is a native of Rochester.

He formerly worked at Eastman Kodak in Rochester. His most recent position was director of consumer experience marketing.

Hallowell will lead the marketing department from a unique local perspective.

“I look forward to working with the marketing team and the Buffalo and Rochester communities to attract even more guests to our park and accommodations,” Hallowell said in the news release.

“As a father of two teenage boys who love to visit the park with their friends, this job definitely promotes me to cool dad,” he said.

SOURCE: http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_5502c362-4131-11e1-bff3-001871e3ce6c.html