Date: Fri 28-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

regional-tourism-district

Full Text:

Tourism District Hires A New Executive Director

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Under fire for the past year for its financial management practices, the

Housatonic Valley Tourism District has hired a new executive director.

Catherine Brashich, former associate director of Big Apple Greeter in New York

City, this week became the executive director of the agency, which works to

boost economic development by attracting tourists to hotels, restaurants and

events in the nine-town Housatonic Valley region.

Ms Brashich introduced herself to local town officials February 21 at a

meeting of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) in

Brookfield. One of 128 applicants for the job, Ms Brashich is taking over from

Liz Englehard, who served as the tourism district's interim director after

former director Margaret Gagnon resigned last year. Ms Brashich's new job will

be similar to what she did for New York City: enhance the image of the area.

"By bringing tourists, business people and others to the area, the result will

be more jobs, tax revenues, hotel, restaurant, retail and business spending,"

she said.

Ms Brashich was accompanied to the HVCEO meeting by Les Pinter, chairman of

the tourism commission; David Camner, a consultant to the commission; Ms

Englehard, Bob McCloud and other tourism district employees. Mr Camner

presented a slide show that was meant to explain to HVCEO officials what the

tourism council intends to accomplish during the next year.

"The HVTC will develop the infrastructure, attractions, image and atmosphere

to enable it to become a regional, national, and international destination for

visitors looking for `Quiet Spaces...Lively Places,'" Mr Camner said.

He said the tourism district's five highest priorities for 1997 are: to

coalesce the community to expand capabilities and resources; to generate

targeted marketing; to re-emphasize the direct selling role; to add a

coordinating "special events" role; and to develop the infrastructure of the

HVTD.

Only about 10 percent of the tourism district's time and energy should be

spent on the fifth priority, developing its infrastructure, but this task

actually has consumed about 80 to 90 percent of its energy over the past year,

Mr Camner admitted.

After allegations of financial mismanagement were leveled against the tourism

district and its former executive director last year, a HVCEO subcommittee

ordered an audit of the tourism agency, which received $627,000 last year from

the state lodging tax collected from inns and hotels.

When the financial audit said the district may need to tighten its office

procedures but showed no gross mismanagement, HVCEO members said the study was

inadequate and recommended a more comprehensive audit.

Earlier this month the tourism district began offering to pay half the cost of

local businesses' radio, television and newspaper ads as a way of "promoting

any accommodation, event or attraction in our district." The ads would be

placed in three media outlets: radio station WOR in New York City, Comcast

Cablevision and The News-Times. As of last Friday, there have been 17

participants in the program, including the Danbury Fair Mall, Gateway's

Candlewood Playhouse, Sunrise Herb Farm in Bethel, and Danbury PAL Bambino

Baseball. About $50,000 has been set aside for the advertising effort,

according to Mr Pinter.

Concern over the way the state's 11 tourism districts spend their $45 million

in state funding has prompted demands for legislation that would give state

auditors the authority to review district finances.

State Rep Julia Wasserman, R-106th District, and state Sen Fred Lovegrove,

R-28th District, are members of the Legislature's Program Review and

Investigations Committee, which has agreed to examine how the state channels

money for tourism through the Office of Tourism, the Connecticut Tourism

Council, the 11 tourism districts and the four convention, coliseum, and

maritime center authorities.

According to a draft scope of the study released earlier this month, the

primary focus will be on "the role and responsibilities of the Department of

Economic and Community Development with respect to tourism, including the

relationship of that function to the other responsibilities of the agency."

The study also will examine the role, funding mechanisms and accountability of

the regional tourism districts.

The study will not, however, include an in-depth analysis of any individual

tourism districts.