After graduating from CU, Mark began to work at Hemmeter Companies. In addition to general construction oversight, Mark managed individual components within the three resorts that were being developed in Hawaii. Those resorts were the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa, the Westin Maui, and the Westin Kauai at Kauai Lagoons. Mark managed the wildlife, horse and carriage, boat shuttle programs at the Westins, and most notably, the dolphin program at the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa. After the properties opened, Mark was the lead owner's representative with the Hyatt and Westin operations and was intimately involved in day-to-day operations.

While still in Hawaii, Mark also took on additional responsibilities such as President of Hemmeter Design Group, a 125-member architecture firm, and Hemmeter Aviation, an aircraft chartering and servicing firm. In early 1991, Mark was appointed to the Board of Directors of a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust.

In 1991, after correctly predicting the halting of large-scale hotel development in Hawaii, Mark moved to Colorado and began the development of the Bullwhackers Black Hawk and Bullwhackers Central City casinos. The total development cost exceeded $45,000,000 and both facilities were built in less than six months. As Bullwhackers' President, Mark oversaw the pre-opening efforts including the hiring of more than 900 employees, the development of a brand identification program, the approval of gaming licenses, and the construction of the facilities. After their opening in 1992, the Bullwhackers facilities quickly dominated their markets. By 1995 annual revenues approached $50,000,000 with an EBITDA of approximately $17,000,000.

In 1996, Mark left Bullwhackers to pursue other interests and since then has primarily focused his energies on the development of the Jackpot Springs Casino in Black Hawk and the continuing operation of a casino and restaurant, also in Black Hawk, named Crooks Palace. Jackpot Springs is a $190,000,000 development located at the entrance to Black Hawk. As the developer of Jackpot Springs, Mark assembled the property, retained the consultants, lawyers, and investment bankers, secured all of the necessary local, state and federal permits and negotiated a lump sum contract with the general contractor. Construction is planned to commence in the summer of 2001.

Mark is a member of Young Presidents Organization and the Urban Land Institute. He is active with the University of Colorado, is a member of the Colorado University Real Estate Council, and guest lectures on tourism development at the College of Business. Previously on the Board of Directors of Friends School, he now serves on the Finance Committee. Mark has spoken on numerous gaming and hotel development panels at conferences around the country. He has continually held a Key license from the Colorado Division of Gaming since 1992.

Mark and his wife, Lisa, have three daughters and live in Boulder, Colorado.

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Christopher's long list of professional accomplishments in the field of resort development, real estate and entertainment were very impressive. During the nineteen-sixties and nineteen-seventies he was a prolific entrepreneur whose bold and creative vision for Hawaii's tour and travel industry forever changed the Island's economy. Specifically, he was involved in the design and development of the Ilikai, Hawaiian Regent Hotel, numerous restaurants, the Mark Christopher retail stores, the Kings Alley resort shopping center in Waikiki and the Hyatt Regency Waikiki hotel at Hemmeter Center; a 1,200 room resort which had the distinction of being Hyatt hotel's first major operation. He also managed a world wide cruise ship operation in addition to his hotel and restaurant development business.

The Hemmeter vision took firm hold during the nineteen-eighties when Christopher developed the Hyatt Regency Maui, Hyatt Regency Waikoloa, Westin Maui Resort, and Westin Kauai Resort at Kauai Lagoons. Each project seemed to shatter the then-held conventional limit for boldness and creativity. Most importantly to Christopher, however, were the thousands of new jobs that his work created and countless travelers who enjoyed his creations.

He built Hemmeter Aviation, the largest FBO operator in Hawaii and in conjunction with Jack Nicklaus, developed two championship golf courses on the island of Kauai. The Kiele course was selected by Golf Digest as the Outstanding New Resort Golf Course in America for the year 1989 and was listed in the top 100 golf courses in America by Golf Digest in its first year of rating eligibility.

Christopher's skills were recognized beyond Hawaii when President Jimmy Carter, a close personal friend, invited him to create the design concept and manage the development of the Carter Presidential Library, Museum, and Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. President Carter named the principal office building housing his office after the Hemmeter family.

The Hemmeter Corporation Building in Honolulu was presented with a national award for historic preservation. Residential developments created by Hemmeter brought the highest residential retail sales prices in Colorado and Hawaii history. By the end of the 1980's Christopher was not only known for his creative achievements but was also recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the Forbes 400.

During the nineties Christopher brought casino development to the forefront with the creation and ownership of the highly profitable Bullwhacker's Casinos in Colorado. Hemmeter was selected by the city of New Orleans to hold the exclusive land-based casino development rights where he teamed with Harrah's, the largest gaming company in America at the time, to develop and operate the $850 million Harrah's New Orleans casino. He was also awarded one of the fifteen riverboat casino licenses by the state of Louisiana.

For his accomplishments, Christopher has received numerous awards including being named twice as the Businessman of the Year, Salesperson of the Year, Marketing Man of the Year and Islander of the Year in Hawaii. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement in 1979. In 1991 Christopher was selected the Independent Hotelier of the World. Christopher's activities went beyond the hotel industry. He was the founder and Chairman of the Bank of Honolulu, a director of the First Hawaiian Bank, a director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., a Trustee of Punahou School in Honolulu, a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a director of the Carter Center, a director of Morrison Knudsen (NYSE), a director of Resort Income Investors, and a Trustee Fellow of Cornell University where he received the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award granted to Cornell University graduates.

Christopher passed away on November 27, 2003 after a battle with Parkinson's Disease and Liver Cancer. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, of 26 years, 3 children, 4 step-children, 5 grandchildren, a brother and a sister.

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