17th Surgeon General of the United States Joins Canyon Ranch to Continue Health Agenda.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Health and wellness industry icon Mel Zuckerman, founder and chairman of Canyon Ranch, has announced that Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, has joined Canyon Ranch as vice chairman of the 27-year-old life enhancement company. Dr. Carmona will also serve as chief executive officer of Canyon Ranch's Health division and president of the nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute. Dr. Carmona is also the recipient of the first Distinguished Professorship in Public Health at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Canyon Ranch will welcome Dr. Carmona to his new position with an official ceremony and press conference at 10 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, October 3, at the College of Public Health.

"Canyon Ranch is growing into new business areas while remaining steadfast to our wellness mission, which is to inspire healthy living," Mr. Zuckerman said. "As U.S. Surgeon General, Richard Carmona led our nation and the world in disease prevention and health promotion for individuals, families and communities, and we look forward to his continuing leadership in his new roles at Canyon Ranch.

"Dr. Carmona has committed his life and career to saving and improving lives. His commitment to safety and preparedness, and his unwavering dedication to better health through prevention have changed the way that millions of people view health and well-being. I have the highest regard for his ability to inspire and lead. All of us at Canyon Ranch are delighted to welcome Rich to the Canyon Ranch family as we continue to extend our wellness mission."

As vice chairman, Dr. Carmona will report to Mr. Zuckerman and work closely with other company officers: Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Cohen, and President and Chief Brand Officer Kevin Kelly. As CEO for Canyon Ranch Health, Dr. Carmona will join Corporate Medical Director Mark Liponis, M.D., and the existing integrative medicine team on major projects and initiatives such as the comprehensive collaboration and joint ventures with Cleveland Clinic, one of the top academic medical research institutions in the country.

"The challenge we face today is not in gathering more information or waiting for more science. Instead, we must translate the best science into steps that people can understand and use to improve their health," said Dr. Carmona. "We must engage diverse populations with culturally competent messages to help them become more health literate, so they can be involved in improving their overall health and well-being. We must change from being disease-oriented to being health-oriented, and focus attention on preventing health problems, not fixing them after they've happened.

"Joining Canyon Ranch will allow me to continue the vision and progress that I had the privilege of leading as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States. Accepting personal responsibility for one's health and experiencing the positive outcomes that result, can dramatically shift attitudes from fear of disease to joy for living. Canyon Ranch has been introducing people to these ideas for over a quarter century, and I am honored to be joining Mel and Enid Zuckerman and their remarkable Canyon Ranch team. Their mission is my mission."

Canyon Ranch and Dr. Carmona are also united in their commitment to eliminate health disparities in underserved populations. The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona promotes the health of individuals and communities with a special emphasis on diverse populations and the Southwest. Dr. Carmona, a University of Arizona professor for more than 20 years, will be the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the College in recognition of his expertise in the field.

A newly named center of excellence at the University of Arizona, The Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion, will focus on research and community programs in three major areas: nutrition, physical activity and tobacco prevention and cessation. Dr. Carmona will advance the goals of the Center through his professorship and his role as President of the nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute.

In addition to his leadership roles with Canyon Ranch, the Canyon Ranch Institute, and as a University of Arizona professor, Dr. Carmona will continue to work with colleagues throughout the health and medical community, particularly his fellow Surgeons General.

"When you become a Surgeon General, you make a commitment that binds you to the other Surgeons General and to the world," Dr. Carmona said. "I have invited the other Surgeons General and the national and international thought leaders who share our vision to participate in a prevention symposium in 2007. Together with experts from Canyon Ranch, the Canyon Ranch Institute, and the faculty and students of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, we will give voice and action to our dedication to improving the health and well-being of all people."

Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Carmona dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted he received his Army General Equivalency Diploma, joined the Army's Special Forces, ultimately becoming a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine as a Special Forces medic. After leaving active duty, Dr. Carmona attended Bronx Community College, of the City University of New York, where he earned his associate of arts degree. He later attended and graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, with a bachelor of science degree (1977) and medical degree (1979). At the University of California Medical School, Dr. Carmona was awarded the prestigious gold-headed cane as the top graduate. He has also earned a master's of public health from the University of Arizona (1998). Dr. Carmona completed a surgical residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and a National Institutes of Health-sponsored fellowship in trauma, burns and critical care. Dr. Carmona is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is also certified in correctional health care and in quality assurance.

In addition to Canyon Ranch Health, the company has three more divisions, one of which oversees the award-winning destination resorts in Tucson, Ariz., and Lenox, Mass., where guests experience the essence of healthy living through customized programming in all aspects of wellness lifestyle. The resorts that pioneered the wellness lifestyle vacation experience have introduced more people to lasting change than any other vacation experience in the world.

Within the Canyon Ranch Living division are communities composed of condominiums, hotels, restaurants and integrative wellness centers with services in medicine, nutrition, stress management, fitness and movement, and body and beauty treatments. The first Canyon Ranch Living community is under construction and will open in Miami Beach on oceanfront property in 2007. Canyon Ranch Living-Chicago will be the urban expression of the concept and is slated to open in 2010. Letters of intent have been executed for additional communities outside the United States and will be announced soon.

The Living division is also responsible for three SpaClubs that are Canyon Ranch-branded day-use facilities at The Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, The Gaylord Palms Resort near Orlando, and onboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 ocean liner.

Canyon Ranch License produces consumer products and recently executed an agreement to expand Canyon Ranch science-based skincare line for distribution at upscale retail outlets, as well as Canyon Ranch properties.

Canyon Ranch is owned 52 percent by its Founders and 48 percent by Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE: CEI).

About Canyon Ranch

Canyon Ranch has been offering healthy, active vacations for more than 27 years. The life-enhancement company has two destination health resorts - the original, which opened in Tucson, Ariz., in 1979, and a second, which opened in Lenox, Mass., in 1989. The company also operates three Canyon Ranch SpaClub fitness, spa and wellness facilities located in The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, at Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee, Fla., and onboard the Queen Mary 2 luxury ocean liner. In addition, Canyon Ranch partners with the renowned Cleveland Clinic on health initiatives, such as an advanced Executive Health Program. In 2007, the company will open the first Canyon Ranch Living residential community in Miami Beach and another has been announced for Chicago. Additional information is available at www.canyonranch.com.

About Crescent Real Estate Equities Company

Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE: CEI) is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, Crescent owns and manages a portfolio of 73 premier office buildings totaling 30 million square feet located in select markets across the United States with major concentrations in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Denver, Miami, and Las Vegas. Crescent also strategically invests in resort-residential developments in locations such as Scottsdale, AZ, Vail Valley, CO, and Lake Tahoe, CA; in destination resorts such as Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn[R] in Sonoma, CA; and in the wellness lifestyle leader, Canyon Ranch[R]. For more information, visit Crescent's Web site at www.crescent.com.