Staff
Christine Baskin, Co-Founder and Owner
Christine Baskin is a native Californian who moved to Texas as a child. After graduating from Ursuline Academy in Dallas she attended Southern Methodist University and received a bachelor of arts degree in business with minors in art history and Spanish. She then pursued a career in banking and served as vice president of commercial lending for Fortune 750 companies at Mercantile Bank (now Bank One) before getting married.
Having an affinity for fun in the outdoors, Christine decided to have her wedding at a well known summer camp in the Texas Hill Country. Even though the camp was not experienced in providing wedding services, Christine's skill at coordinating and the setting made it a very positive experience. Christine knew that other brides would love a similar wedding experience once they saw how wonderful a wedding could be in a beautiful natural setting with all the comforts of home. This event was the beginning of a new business venture for the Baskin family.
After purchasing this beautiful ranch on Lake Travis, they started from the ground up in building the facility. Knowing that most people think of camps as being rustic and unrefined, Christine set out to help change that image of summer camps by redefining the camp experience so that adults and kids alike could have a superior experience.
Christine lives in Austin with her three children: Katie, 17; Annabelle, 15; and Mac, 9. In the summertime she lives at Balcones Springs.
Leslie Moore, General Manager
Leslie Moore has been in the hospitality business for over 35 years. He moved to Austin, Texas in 1969 from Corpus Christi, Texas to pursue a degree in electrical engineering and learned that waiting tables and bartending in some of Austin's elite private clubs was a good way to earn money while in school. He later went to work as the production/business manager for Victoria Hentrich, Inc. Catering and Event Production, based in Austin.
In 1987, Leslie founded Parties Parties!, a catering company. His experience, talents and business acumen enabled the firm to achieve rapid growth in a short period of time and in 1989, he merged with another catering company called Word Of Mouth. The new company became premier catering company and is still recognized by the Austin Chronicle as Austin's best caterer.
Under Leslie's leadership the Word Of Mouth had the privilege to serve clients such as The Blanton Museum of Art, Southwest Airlines, GSD&M advertising, Milkshake Media, and all the Texas governors from Ann Richards to Rick Perry. Word of Mouth's client list looked like the who's who of Austin and central Texas. In 1991 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Texas, Leslie's company was called upon to serve an elegant event at the governor's mansion. When President Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton visited Austin, Leslie would receive personal from calls from their host to provide catering services for their events. Word of Mouth was recognized by Bon Appetit magazine as one of the "top 10 wedding caterers in the United States".
In 2001, Leslie sold Word of Mouth. It was a smart business decision, but Leslie still had a passion for hospitality. Christine Baskin, owner of Balcones Springs, invited him to consult on computer software issues and soon thereafter, he was named general manager.
"Being the general manager at Balcones Springs has helped me realized how much I have learned and how much I still have to contribute to the hospitality industry. I am very fortunate to work at a place that is beautiful, serene and relaxing. Every caterer that I've met would love to have a place like this to host beautiful weddings. Balcones Springs is that dream come true."
Leslie holds a lifetime achievement award from the International Special Events Society.
Courtney Rhode, Wedding Coordinator
A native Texan, Courtney Rhode grew up in College Station and on her family's ranch in West Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning a bachelor of arts in fashion merchandising. After college, she worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles and New York, learning from the best in the industry including such notables as Marc Jacobs. But Courtney began to miss Texas and the many friends she left here, so she decided to return and pursue a career in wedding planning. Courtney is thrilled to be back in Central Texas and believes that planning a wedding should be a fun and happy time for couples and their families with as little stress as possible.
Marko Ellinger, Executive Chef
Executive chef Marko Ellinger comes to the Hill Country from Washington D.C. and has been honing his culinary skills for over twenty-five years to the delight of worldwide audiences, noted celebrities, brides and grooms, and corporate clientele. He is a cookbook author, food writer, and a specialist in seafood, vegetarian, macrobiotic, diabetic, low fat and organic choices.
Marko attended the Greystone Culinary Institute of America and has cooked at some of Austin's favorite restaurants including Fonda San Miguel and Sweetish Hill. He's also been a first choice of Austin's top caterers, including Word Of Mouth and Austin Catering, affording him the opportunity to cook for Texas Governors from Ann Richards to Rick Perry, President Bill Clinton, Lady Bird Johnson, as well as a stint as personal chef for Kevin Spacey.
In the off-season, Chef Marko can be seen performing at many prominent food festivals, special events, corporate parties, numerous schools and fringe theatrical productions. He has been featured on Nickelodeon and Fox and produced an award winning kids cooking show for PBS.
