The search for the next president of Visit Winston-Salem has been narrowed to six candidates.
The Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority said yesterday that it expects to recommend a candidate at its December meeting. The authority has oversight over the visitor bureau.
Diane Caesar, who leads the authority's personnel committee, said that the candidates will be interviewed Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. They also will be given a 90-minute tour of the local community.
Caesar said that Stephan Dragisic, the bureau's director of marketing and communications, is not among the six finalists although he was among 12 considered by the authority.
The bureau hasn't had a full-time president since the board granted Bob McCoy a requested six-month leave of absence for health reasons in June 2008 amid the controversy about the administrative and financial future of the two groups. McCoy never returned to the job.
Carmen Caruth took the job on an interim basis, but she resigned June 30, 2009.
The authority authorized in August spending up to $37,500 on a contract with SearchWide, based in Stillwater, Minn.
It specializes in recruiting top management for the tourism and travel industries.
The authority said it is discussing whether to form a cable or Internet tourism media outlet. It is considering a channel modeled after the N.C. High Country Visitors Information Channel, a one-hour show that airs 24 hours a day.
Gayle Anderson, who leads the marketing committee, said that the authority could buy air time on Time Warner Cable, though she cautioned that the current cost could be prohibitive.
"We would like to have a TV channel that could broadcast information for visitors -- places to visit, restaurants to frequent, festivals, etc." said Anderson, who also is the president and chief executive of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
Anderson said that the authority also is considering satellite TV to have access to hotels that use that service.
"We want it accessible in peoples' homes," Anderson said.
She said that the authority believes the channel could pay for itself through advertising and paid programming such as adversorials.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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