Hotelier and preservationist Roenigk dies in Iowa crash

In happier times -- Marty and Elise Roenigk recently posed in front of the Crescent Hotel with their beloved Irish Setter, Aine. Marty and Aine died in an accident on June 18. Elise underwent surgery and is recovering in Omaha, Neb. Photo submitted

Many here would disagree. Marty Roenigk, 68, co-owner of the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa and the 1905 Basin Park Hotel, died in a two-vehicle collision near Griswold, Iowa, on the evening of June 18.

Elise Roenigk is recovering from injuries sustained in the accident in an Omaha, Neb., hospital.

Roenigk and his wife Elise bought and restored the Crescent and Basin Park hotels 12 years ago and have been active in preservation and community work in Eureka Springs since that time.

Roenigk was a familiar sight at the Crescent, walking his beloved Irish setter, Aine, on the grounds. He and his wife lived in a penthouse atop the hotel.

An active citizen

The Roenigks' involvement in the community were many and varied, well beyond owning the two hotels. This involvement included the purchase and restoration of the Gavioli Chapel, the War Eagle Mill, and contributions to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, Eureka Springs' May Festival of the Arts, the Main Stage Creative Community Center, the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, the Harmon City Park Skate Park, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, the Carnegie Public Library and its annual Books-In-Bloom festival and the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. They also provided the seed money and helped secure the Save America's Treasures grant that restored the city's 1929 civic auditorium.

Background

In 1965 Roenigk received a bachelor of arts degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and married the former Elise Feutz. He earned a master's in business administration in 1967 from the University of Chicago. He worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. in Cleveland in the late 1960s while becoming a certified public accountant.

Roenigk then served a stint with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. After that, he spent the next 23 years working for the Travelers Corp. in Hartford, Conn., where he became vice president for corporate strategy and research.

In 1990, while he was still with Travelers, he and a friend, Alan Markowitz, bought a small company that manufactured pneumatic hand tools.

In 1993, Travelers was sold to Primerica -- now the Travelers Cos. -- and Roenigk left the company.

In 1995, Roenigk and Markowitz bought CompuDyne Corp., a security company, and Roenigk became chairman and chief executive. CompuDyne had a net loss of $142,000 for the six months prior to the acquisition and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

CompuDyne acquired several other companies, and by 2006 had gross revenue of $147.5 million. A group of private-equity investors bought CompuDyne from Roenigk and Markowitz in 2007 for $59 million. By then, the Annapolis, Md.-based CompuDyne was providing blast-resistant doors and windows for U.S. embassies and federal buildings.

Newcomers to town

Cleveland-born Roenigk and his wife came to Eureka Springs from East Hampton, Conn., in 1997 in search of a place to live and retire. They purchased the Basin Park Hotel for $1 million, the Crescent Hotel for $1.3 million and invested another $10 million in their restoration.

The Crescent and Basin Park hotels serve as one of the biggest employers in western Carroll County.

Roenigk was named Eureka Springs' "Man of the Year" in 2001.

Keystone citizens

According to Economic Development Coordinator and City Preservation Officer, Glenna Booth, Roenigk's efforts ran across the spectrum of community service.

"Last year the HDC gave the Roenigks its first Stewardship award for their care of commercial properties," she said. "We very much appreciate all they did, not just with the hotels but the [Gavioli] chapel, War Eagle Mill, and of course he will be greatly missed.

"One thought I had of them was when I was recently reading about [biological] 'keystone species,' groups that are a kind of key to the survival of other groups, and that's how I think of them: keystone citizens, not only in their aid to the local economy, but also in their philanthropic support of the arts, of nonprofits, and of course the whole Nature Conservancy effort."

Nature Conservancy

Roenigk's preservation work went beyond historic hotels. In 2005, he sold 1,226 acres in Newton County to the Nature Conservancy at a huge discount. Valued at $1.2 million, Roenigk sold the property at the headwaters of the Buffalo River for $400,000.

The Acres for America program, a partnership between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, paid the remaining $400,000 for the property, which is now the Smith Creek Nature Preserve.

"He was interested in ecological [preservation] too," said Booth. "They didn't just give money, they gave time and talent, advice and assistance to other small businesses. And they were still working to bring in good ideas, both for tourism and for cultural heritage arts. He and Elise were, and are, so multi-dimensional in so many ways, so approachable. He was always looking, giving advice and more"

Memorial service

Plans for a memorial service for Roenigk are being made by the family, but a spokesman for the family said the service would probably not be held for another two to three weeks allowing Mrs. Roenigk time to recover from her injuries and surgery.

The family has also asked that in lieu of flowers that memorials be made in the name of Marty Roenigk to: Main Stage Creative Community Center, ATTN: Marty Roenigk Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 17, 67 N. Main St., Eureka Springs, AR 72632. The phone number is 253-8060, and the Web site is http://www.mainstagecenter.com, or those interested can email contact@mainstagecenter.com.