ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240026
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Above
Martha Mackey resigned Friday as executive director of the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, a position she had held since 1989. Over the last 7 1/2 years, Mackey has led the bureau through a time of expansion; during the last six months, however, she has been the target of criticism for what some members saw as ineffective leadership.
"I've invested almost 10 years with the organization," Mackey said. "I've had so much support from the board members. It's just simply time to move on."
Mackey, who provided "mature and professional guidance" for a staff that grew from two to nine employees during her tenure, will be missed, said James Sears, president of the bureau's board.
During Mackey's years as executive director, the bureau, which markets the valley to conventions and tourists, saw a 156 percent increase in the number of conventions it sought to bring to the region, Sears said. In the same period, tour group sales have quadrupled and the number of people attending area conventions has doubled. The number of visitors stopping at the information center on the Roanoke City Market has grown by more than 13 percent per year since 1989, according to the bureau, with 48,000 registered visitors in 1995.
Also with Mackey as director, the center for the first time in its 12-year history received accreditation last spring from the Virginia division of tourism, a designation held by seven other visitors centers in the state.
The bureau operates on a $738,300 budget, a far cry from the packing-box-and-folding-table organization Mackey joined as a sales manager 91/2 years ago, she said.
"We've been able to take water and make stew out of it because we've had so many people in the community behind us," she said. "I'm real proud of that."
"Martha Mackey has led the bureau through many positive changes," said Phillip Sparks, chief of economic development for the city of Roanoke. "She has increased our business through convention and leisure travel. She will be greatly missed."
In recent months, however, some bureau members have openly criticized Mackey's efforts and several organizations reduced their funding for the 121-member bureau.
In a letter to the bureau's board dated Nov. 30, 1995, Carey Harveycutter, Salem's representative on the visitors bureau board, and the managers of four Roanoke Valley hotels said they had "lost all faith and trust" in Mackey and the bureau's director of convention sales, Kelly Burd-Adams.
This spring, the Roanoke Airport Marriott - one of the disgruntled hotels - decided to cut its annual contribution from $10,500 to $2,500. The hotel's general manager, Herman Turk, said at the time that the Marriott thought it could achieve better results with its own marketing efforts. Turk would not comment Friday on whether the change in leadership will make a difference in the hotel's funding.
Last month, Salem City Council voted to cut all but $5,000 of the city's annual $25,000 contribution to the bureau. Harveycutter and council members questioned the bureau's performance in promoting Salem as a tourist destination and its effectiveness in promoting all Roanoke Valley hotels equally.
Harveycutter would not speculate whether Salem's council might reconsider its contribution after Mackey's departure, but Howard Packett, the only member of the Salem council who had voted to continue full funding, said Friday he doubts Mackey's resignation will change the city's position, because Salem now plans to build its own visitors center.
The decision to cut funding for the regional bureau, he said, had nothing to do with Mackey personally.
"I have no regrets," Mackey said. "From Day One, I never really thought of any lines anywhere. I thought we were just one big region. I had hoped that any conflicts could be resolved."
The bureau now must begin the process of finding a replacement for Mackey, who will remain in her position until a new director is hired. The national search likely will take three to five months, Sears said. The search committee will include community representatives as well as board members.
"It's an opportunity for the board to stop and take a serious look at what is needed in the Roanoke Valley," Sears said.
Staff writer S.D. Harrington contributed to this story.
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