By DREW RICHARDSON
Staff Writer
The search for an executive director for the Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau has been put on hold.
Ben Cox, a member of the tourism commission selection committee, said Monday at a meeting of the tourism board of directors that he had sent multiple emails last week to others on that committee, including former board Chairman Brittany Gray, requesting access to the password for the email account to which candidates for the executive director’s position are to send applications.
After not receiving a reply furnishing the password, Cox paused all advertising for the CVB director position on Friday.
According to Cox, he and the other members of the selection committee did not have access to the password of the email account, except for Gray. Cox said he received no replies from any of the members to whom he sent the email.
However, Gray said the email she received last week from Cox requesting access to the password did not include all of the correct members of the selection committee.
Gray said Cox’s message did not include Abigail Newsome, a former member of the tourism board and vice chairman of the selection committee, who would have had access to the password for the email account.
Cox said Newsome did not have access to the password.
Gray also said that she believed Cox was in no position to make the decision to pause advertising Friday. Ads had been running in media outlets for four days.
“I removed the ad to protect the board from further legal ramifications,” Cox said.
Gray said, “The way that this was handled was definitely not in the best interest of the CVB. And I don’t think it’s representative of all of the board members.”
She also said that she did not appreciate Cox’s tone in the emails he sent to her asking for the password.
At Monday’s meeting, it was decided that a new email account would be created to which candidates for the executive director job could send their information.
The last executive director, Danielle Morgan, recently left after nearly five years to take the same position with the Mississippi Tourism Association.
Gray said she was contacted Monday by the newly elected chairman of the tourism board, Suresh Chawla, and said that a discussion will take place in which she will give the information that the selection committee needs.
Chawla said he hopes Greenwood will have a new executive director of the CVB by October.
- Contact Drew Richardson at 581-7233 or drichardson@gwcommonwealth.com.
