(Credit: Courtesy Warren County, 2023)
Heather Bagshaw
The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to hire Greene County’s tourism director to lead the Warren County Tourism department, the county announced last week.
Heather Bagshaw has taken the reins and is making the rounds visiting with other department heads, officials in the county have said.
She will earn $90,783 per year in the role, according to Don Lehman, the director of communications in the county. Bagshaw replaces Alfred W. "Al" Snow IV who left abruptly after only nine weeks last November.
“She’s a charming woman with great references,” said Eugene Merlino, the Lake Luzerne supervisor on the county board and the chair of the search committee.
"It is an honor to be chosen as the next Tourism Director,” Bagshaw said in a statement. “I am excited to be working in an area that is recognized for its year-round outdoor adventure, events, attractions, and more!”
According to press materials, Bagshaw spent nearly 10 years overseeing Greene County's tourism promotion efforts, and also worked as vice president for marketing at Destination Niagara USA, a tourism group.
"She did a lot in Greene County, I mean a lot,” said Gina Mintzer, the president of the Lake George Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. The chamber works closely with the county’s tourism office. Mintzer said she already knew Bagshaw since they both go to similar conferences and statewide meetings.
"She did a lot of things there to keep their tourism brand vibrant,” Mintzer said of the work in Greene County.
Mintzer said that tourism leaders in the state read the same sorts of reports and get the same sort of data, adding that Greene County is smaller than Warren County and has fewer of the recreational draws that Warren County and other neighboring counties have. It may give Bagshaw a different but helpful perspective, Mintzer said.
"It's the same circus, but a bigger tent here, I think," Mintzer said.
The director oversees a department of four full-time and two-part-time staff members and is responsible for planning, developing and implementing programs to promote Warren County, the press materials say.
The county’s tourism department saw upheaval over the past year.
Longtime director Joanne Conley retired in May last year and the county’s first pick to replace her was Al Snow, who was hired in September and left in November. His resignation letter included a long list of grievances.
Merlino admitted in an interview on April 24 that Snow’s hiring process was flawed. He said the committee asked Mintzer to sit in on some interviews to watch and listen without asking questions.
“That was a no-no,” he said.
One of the candidates had previously worked for Mintzer.
“I should have left the room,” Mintzer said in an interview April 24.
Merlino said the infighting surrounding the hiring process got Snow off on the wrong foot. Speaking off-the-record, many people have also wondered how much Snow wanted the job. He had roots in Syracuse and met the requirements of the position in Warren County but had moved from Florida to Warren County. After his wife arrived in November, he left, a handful of people have said off-the-record.
His LinkedIn profile shows him as living in Lakeland Florida and “open to work,” which usually indicates the person is actively looking for a job.
The county board followed more traditional steps in hiring Bagshaw, and the board unanimously supported her, Merlino said.
“I was really taken back when he [Snow] decided to leave,” said Kevin Geraghty, the chair of the county board of supervisors, adding that they are looking forward — not backward — in this process.
"Heather comes with a lot of experience," he said. He said she is very well liked and comes with "high grades from Greene county."
Officials said they liked that she has vast experience in New York State and already knows key players at the state level and therefore they do not expect the same troubles as they had with Snow.
Officials thanked Paul Tackett, the department's assistant director, for running the department over the better part of the year.