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Visitors bureau' chief resigns
Board to comment today; Marx says job not a good fit
| Thursday, May 17 2007 6:45 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, May 17 2007 6:47 PM
The head of the Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau has stepped down, leaving the city-subsidized marketing organization without a president for the second time in just more than a year.
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Bob Marx said Thursday that he resigned as president and CEO of the bureau May 9 after meeting with the bureau's governing board.
Marx, 56, who took over at the bureau in December, said he wasn't asked to leave and that his departure was "amicable." Marx said his decision and the board's position were "pretty much mutual."
"It wasn't a good fit for me," Marx said. "I felt my skills could better be used somewhere else. Where my skill set was and the direction the board wanted to go wasn't on the same plane. Rather than be in the way, I thought better to part ways and shake hands."
Board Chairman Dennis Muleady said Wednesday that Marx has not been at work since May 9. Muleady said he was legally unable to comment on Marx's employment status, but that he would make an announcement today.
"Nothing is final as of this point in time," Muleady said Wednesday. "There is no information to report because nothing has been finalized."
Muleady did not return phone messages seeking comment Thursday.
When Marx started work in December the bureau had been without a president since March 2006, when Don Jaeger resigned.
"They went through an extremely long search (to hire Marx)," City Manager Alan Tandy said. "It has been a difficult time for them."
The nonprofit convention and visitors bureau receives most of its funding from the city of Bakersfield, Tandy said.
A contract with the city calls for the bureau to receive 11 percent of the hotel occupancy taxes collected by the city. Tandy said the city expects to give the bureau $960,000 in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The city is projected to bring in $8.45 million through its 12 percent hotel room tax during the 2007-2008 fiscal year, Tandy said.
The city has more than 4,000 hotel rooms.
Tandy said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on personnel matters with the bureau.
"The city's concern is with return on our investment and measuring the performance of the organization in getting our money back," Tandy said.
The bureau, which has only a handful of employees, is governed by its board, which handles all hiring and firing, Tandy said.
At Wednesday's weekly lunch meeting of the Bakersfield West Rotary Club, Marx announced that he was no longer employed with the bureau. But he did not elaborate on the conditions surrounding his departure, said club president Tom Crear, who attended the meeting.
Marx joked during his speech that he was probably the first unemployed speaker the club has had and said if anyone was looking for a good marketing person that he is looking for a job.
"He really didn't say a whole lot (about why he's leaving)," Crear said. The rotary club's meeting was running short on time and Marx didn't take questions from the crowd, Crear said.
Club program director Caryl Schweitzer said Marx had been scheduled to speak at the club's meeting for at least two months. Schweitzer said Marx called her last week to inform her he had resigned from the bureau, but that the rotary club decided to have him speak about marketing Bakersfield anyway.
Schweitzer, who attended Marx's speech, said he made a comment about taking shoes back to the store if they don't fit.
"He said this just wasn't a good fit," Schweitzer said.
Debbie Moreno, president of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, said she was surprised Thursday to learn of Marx's departure.
"He hasn't been here for very long," Moreno said. "He seemed very upbeat and happy every time I saw him."
Before he was hired by the board to help promote Bakersfield as a destination, Marx was vice president of marketing at the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Marx said he has no regrets about taking the position and he hopes whoever takes over his old job aggressively markets the city and continues the momentum he started.
"It was a great opportunity," Marx said. "Unfortunately it just didn't work out."
Marx said his annual salary was $95,000, and that he is in the process of negotiating with the board the financial terms of his departure.
Marx said an eight-day cooling-off period after he resigned will expire today, making his departure official.