The Park County Travel Council wants to take as long as it needs to find a new executive director, even if that means pushing back the original timetable. 

Ryan Hauck left the post in early July, and — after hiring an executive firm to help with the search — the council originally hoped to find a replacement by mid-September.

However, “the consensus from the hiring committee is that it's more important to find the right candidate than to find a candidate right now,” board member Quintin Blair said at the September board meeting. “So we wish we were a little bit further along in the process, but the matter is that we’re not, so we’re gonna make sure we get it right.”

Blair said applications have been “dribbling in,” with three local candidates and another who’s “semi local.”

Hauck left after four years at the helm of the organization, and was roundly praised by the board for his accomplishments in growing the brand and seeing a continued increase in lodging tax revenue to fund ever more marketing. He was also criticized by some for a lack of transparency and for not listening to the desires of some groups who rely on funding from the department. 

Since Hauck departed, Administrative Assistant Amanda Keyes and Marketing Manager Katrina Southern have kept the department running. Their efforts drew praise from board chair John Parsons. 

Hauck survives investigation

Hauck now heads up a similar tourist organization in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He recently spent about two weeks on paid leave while an investigation was conducted into statements he allegedly made to some of his employees they deemed offensive, according to the Fayetteville Flyer.

After a Sept. 18 executive session, members of Fayetteville’s Advertising and Promotion Commission voted unanimously to reinstate Hauck and implement no additional disciplinary measures, the Flyer reported.

Hauck reportedly receives a $180,000 salary as the CEO of Experience Fayetteville, up from the roughly $130,000 to $140,000 package he was receiving in Park County.

In May, the travel council hired the firm SearchWide Global to help search for a new CEO, at a cost of roughly 30% of a year’s salary.