Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Visitor Economy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners seek coordinated input on Experience Olympia and Beyond leadership search
Summary
Following a leadership transition at Experience Olympia and Beyond, Thurston County commissioners asked for coordinated outreach to the VCB recruiter and requested two commissioners join the county manager in meetings with the recruiter and with city mayors to shape priorities for a new director.
Thurston County commissioners discussed the leadership transition at Experience Olympia and Beyond, the county's visitor and convention bureau (VCB), and directed staff to arrange joint outreach with the VCB recruiter and municipal leaders.
County Manager Leonard Hernandez told the board that a recruiter for Experience Olympia and Beyond asked to meet with stakeholders and offered to include commissioners. Hernandez asked the board to identify two commissioners to join him in a meeting next Wednesday with the recruiter.
Commissioner Kelly Mejia said she preferred a pre-meeting involving the board chair and vice chair with city mayors and mayor pro tems so that jurisdictions could present a coordinated view to the recruiter. "I would think that having our chair and vice chair meet with our mayors and mayor pro tems, and have a conversation about the VCB and the direction moving forward," Mejia said during the session.
Commissioner Rachel Grant asked for background information and an offline briefing because she had not been part of earlier conversations. The board agreed that Commissioner Wayne Fournier and Commissioner Kelly Mejia would join County Manager Hernandez and the chair in the recruiter meeting if schedules allow; commissioners also asked staff to try to convene a meeting with city mayors to discuss VCB priorities before or around the recruiter conversation.
Why it matters: Experience Olympia and Beyond handles destination marketing and visitor outreach that feed into lodging-tax metrics, event promotion, and regional tourism strategies. Commissioners said they want a consistent, coordinated message across jurisdictions during the VCB leadership search so the bureau can continue to promote county events and support LTAC objectives.
Next steps: Staff will schedule the recruiter meeting with the designated commissioners, attempt to convene mayors for a pre-meeting, and provide background material to commissioners who request it. The board instructed staff to keep the dialogue ongoing while the VCB searches for a new executive director.
