Spa People in the News

Jim Root, General Manager of Spa Operations at Sea Island, elected chairman of the International Spa Association (ISPA)

Las Vegas, Nevada (November 6, 2006) Jim Root, General Manager of Spa Operations for Sea Island, has been elected chairman of the International Spa Association, also known as ISPA. He takes the position November 9th, 2006 at the close of ISPA’s annual conference, which this year was in Las Vegas.

Now in its 16th year, ISPA includes over 2,500 members from 72 countries and is recognized worldwide as the leading professional organization and as the voice of the spa industry.

Considered a spa visionary, Root joined Sea Island in 2005 after heading spa operations at the award-winning Miraval, Life in Balance. He is also known for his innovative work at the top-rated spas Rancho La Puerta, Green Valley Spa, Meadowwood Napa Valley, and elsewhere. He is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.

The Spa at Sea Island, America’s first new Atlantic Ocean-front spa in over 25 years, is scheduled to open on November 17th on Sea Island, Georgia. The spa is located between an undeveloped five-mile long white sand beach on its west and acres of green-gold salt marsh of nature preserve to its east. Groves of braided, woven ancient oaks with Spanish moss anchor the area’s singular beauty.

Sea Island, Georgia, is best known for its year-round weather, its fabled flagship hotel, The Cloister, and its 78 years of continuously being family owned and family run. At 65,000 square feet, The Spa at Sea Island is noted for offering all the attributes of a destination spa, with proximity to the legendary Cloister, newly rebuilt just this year. The Spa at Sea Island is also adjacent to The Lodge, the founding family’s other award-winning destination on Sea Island.

It is that tradition of stewardship, of land and of tradition, which attracted Jim Root to join Sea Island last year. He is a serious amateur naturalist who has earmarked sustainability and building a sense of community as priorities for his upcoming tenure with ISPA.

“I am passionate about spa as an industry, and even more passionate about building a sense of spa community in which our vision for health wellbeing and living a life in balance can be shared with each other – and also with the larger society and the greater world around us,” said Root.

He added, “As spa professionals we’ve come to realize that the question of our time is not – ‘how do we want to vacation?’ but rather: ‘how do we want to live?’