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UP CLOSE / BEAT / HIS STYLE / HER STYLE

BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ / PHOTOS BY CLAUDIA JOHNSTONE

IN PERFECT STEP

Abby Murtagh is directing the ultimate dance in the desert at the recently reopened Arizona Biltmore

Abby Murtagh believes that true leadership is the ability to seamlessly direct a team to the performance of their lives, and then to do it again the next day, but even better. “My parents were the first directors in my life, running a 36-acre farm outside of York in Pennsylvania,” Murtagh says. “The farm was a dance of sorts, and everyone had their parts, from feeding the pigs to milking the cows to cleaning the stalls.” Murtagh’s position of choice was making lunch. “I was always the first to volunteer for the jobs inside that had creature comforts while being a nice distance from the actual creatures.”

Learning the Biz

The business-minded Murtagh soon realized the lack of supply and surplus of demand for cooking in the town, so she opened a catering service at just 14. Within a few months, she was catering teacher luncheons and hosting tastings in her home. She also worked as a busser in a local tavern once old enough, solidifying her love for hospitality. “To take my love for this people-pleasing dance to the next level, I decided to pursue a college degree in the industry, setting my sights high,” Murtagh says. “I made a portfolio with sample menus, profit-and-loss statements and even comment cards and used it to apply to Cornell University, where I was accepted and graduated in 1992.” Her first job was a doozy. “It was as the restaurant manager on the Spirit of Philadelphia, a ship that takes passengers along the Delaware River. Five stars, it was not,” Murtagh says. It was at this first job that Murtagh learned a big lesson about leadership. “Most of our staff was on parole. It was a rough crowd but finding a way to listen to their needs and get along with them taught me that in order to lead anyone, I had to speak their language, not the other way around,” Murtagh says. After successfully avoiding being thrown overboard for a year, Murtagh moved on to Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania and then Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. “After a few years, I learned another big lesson. If I wanted to continue moving up the ranks in the industry, I needed to get out of my comfort zone and be open to moving, even cross-country,” says Murtagh, who first moved to Washington D.C. and then San Francisco, making a name for herself with several brands, including Kimpton.

The Road to GM

As her career progressed, and as she became more adept at learning and speaking the many languages of team members, Murtagh doubled down her commitment to moving as needed, taking a leadership role at a management company that required regular travel to hotels and resorts nationwide. “Somehow, between moves, I also found love. And I found it more or less next door,” says Murtagh, who met her now-husband Tony in the early 2000s while doing rideshare in Virginia to cut down on the often horrendous commute to work. The two married in 2004 and made a home in Florida. By 2006, the couple welcomed their son, Patrick, and their daughter, Caroline. “I was actually taking time off to care for the kids when I got a call with a life-changing proposition. I was being recruited to be the food and beverage director at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, which would mean moving the family 7,000 miles away but would also mean leading a $30 million operation, which felt like the ultimate challenge,” Murtagh says. The family loved the Big Island, especially Murtagh, whose commute consisted of jetting down the side of a mountain for 10 minutes in a Jeep with no doors. Soon, however, they sought a means to move back to the mainland. “The opportunity to come back came in 2012 thanks to the New York Palace, which was undergoing a massive renovation,” Murtagh says. She took a job leading the culinary team and moved her family to New Jersey, effectively adding three hours to her Hawaiian commute. All those hours in the car paid off quickly. After three years, the one-and-only Waldorf Astoria in New York came calling with a lofty management position, which she took and excelled in in short order. By 2015, there was only one role Murtagh had yet to earn: general manager. “The general manager of a resort is the true director and choreographer of all operations on any property,” Murtagh says. “In 2016, I got my first opportunity at the role via the Hilton Salt Lake City, a position I took sight unseen.” She remained at the resort for several years, including through COVID-19, which – outside of working with the parolees – was the hardest time in her career. By the end of 2020, she began talks with Arizona Biltmore. “The entire industry has been buzzing about the Biltmore and its multimillion-dollar renovation for a year,” Murtagh says. “The responsibility was great, but one I worked toward my entire life.” In May, as general manager, Murtagh led the reopening of the iconic property after a 15-month property-wide transformation. “Originally opened in 1929 and beloved for its Frank Lloyd Wright and Albert Chase McArthur design, our team worked meticulously with Wright devotees to respectfully restore, repair and ultimately celebrate the resort’s storied legacy while elevating the guest experience for visitors from around the world,” Murtagh says. “I think what we’ve created here is the greatest production of my life.”

PAD Impacts Everyday Living

BY GREER BANKS

he need to stop and rest after walking a short distance because of a leg cramps, numbness in the feet or leg pain could be more than normal aging or adjusting to increased activity. While the inclination may be to think it’s just part of getting older, these symptoms may be caused by vascular insufficiency.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is one of those conditions that is sometimes easy to dismiss. “If you find yourself needing to rest because your leg cramps when you walk even a short distance, or at night you need to stand up to relieve a cramp in your foot, that’s your legs and feet telling you they need help,” says Dr. Joel Rainwater, chief medical officer of Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC).

“PAD is often called the silent killer because you may have it and not even know,” says Rainwater. Its diagnosis is often delayed and not identified until it has progressed. “It’s not normal to have difficulty walking to your mailbox, it’s not normal to have constant leg pain or cramping,” says Rainwater. It’s also interesting to note, that the symptoms of PAD and neuropathy are very similar. They include difficulty walking without taking a break, burning, tingling, numbness and/or pain. “When I see a patient who has been told they have neu-

ropathy and they’ve been maximized on medication that’s not working, I know there may be something else causing it and one of the big, notorious offenders in that scenario is PAD,” says Rainwater.

PAD is caused by the buildup of fatty material inside the arteries. This build-up occurs gradually and hardens into plaque inside the artery restricting blood flow. Without an adequate blood supply, the body can’t get the oxygen and nutrients it needs to maintain healthy legs and feet. “This is something we can fix,” explains Rainwater. “The good news about PAD, is that there’s hope. There is treatment and it’s excellent, it’s been one of the biggest success stories in all of medicine.” Patients are able to get back on their feet and everyday living with almost no downtime, no stitches and no overnight hospital stay. Medicare as well as most insurance plans will cover treatment.

“I’m here to tell patients that there are options, all they have to do is ask. They might have to ask a different doctor, but they don’t have to live with the idea that they’re going to suffer for the rest of their life,” says Rainwater. His best advice, “Go look for answers.”

“PAD is often called the silent killer because you may have it and not even know it”

Joel Rainwater, MD is a board-certified endovascular specialist with more than 23 years of experience. He has focused his medical career on educating the public and his fellow physicians to recognize PAD and start treatment as quickly as possible. He can be reached at 480-860-6455.