Warren County plans to interview seven candidates to fill the tourism director role, a role Paul Tackett has filled on-and-off since last May, Warren County Administrator John Taflan told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com.
“We’re going to start interviews in the upcoming week for seven individuals we deemed qualified for the position,” Taflan said last week.
The person would either take over for Tackett who had been named interim director after then-director Joanne Conley retired last May. Her permanent replacement, Alfred Snow IV, arrived in September and left with little warning nine weeks later, leaving behind a scathing resignation letter.
[Read about Snow’s pointed resignation letter here. Read about reaction to it here.]
Tackett confirmed that he is running to fill the full-time position, and county sources say he will be among the seven interviewed.
Taflan, as well as Chairman of the Tourism Committee Gene Merlino, the county supervisor from Lake Luzerne, will be part of the team that will interview the candidates over weeks-long process.
After the interviews, recommendations will be made to the county board's personnel committee, which will then choose from a narrowed field of three or four candidates, Taflan said.
Warren County Director of Public Affairs Don Lehman said the timetable is not solidly set, “but the hope is to have a new director chosen this spring.”
Tackett has served as Warren County’s Interim Director before and after Snow’s short tenure.
“I worked closely with Joanne for most of the time she served in the director capacity, building the department's staff and website, social media and marketing initiatives and shadowing her as she oversaw all aspects of Warren County Tourism,” Tackett wrote in an email.
Tackett described the transition as “seamless” when he took over the day-to-day operations.
During his tenure, Tackett has served as Tourism Promotion Agent for I Love New York, and has sat on the board of the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council.
“We are looking at enhancing some of our platforms to remain ‘tip-of-the-spear’ in branding Warren County and the Lake George Area as ‘The Original Vacation,’’’ he said.
Those in the region’s tourism sector also said there has been little disruption because of the vacancy.
“From our perspective, the tourism team is doing everything they can to not miss a beat,” said Gina Mintzer, Executive Director of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB. “We work in collaboration with the entire tourism department team and we stay in constant contact.”
The Chamber is a business-to-consumer chamber that focuses its marketing resources out of the region to attract visitors to the area.
Retiring Lake George Village Mayor Bob Blais said much the same.
“We are anticipating another great year for tourism. The Director office vacancy will have no impact,” Blais said. “Paul Tackett is very qualified and doing a great job as the interim director.”
Blais, who is retiring this month after serving 52 years, spends about 50% of his time promoting the village, according to a study conducted last year.
Lake George Village and the Town of Lake George commissioned the study when they were forced to consider dissolving the village into the town, a decision that residents ultimately voted against.
According to the study, the mayor’s job requires "continuous development of new projects and cultivation of partnerships, planning, organizing and promotion of a comprehensive program of nearly 100 special events, celebrations, concerts and/or fireworks each year."
“I hope to still be involved in organizing and promoting special events in Warren County and Lake George” after retirement, the mayor said. Other media reports say he is looking to stay on the payroll in some capacity.