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CLEARWATER — In a move described as a response to shrinking contributions from member businesses, the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce has sacked several high-level employees.
Out are Sandi Carnagey, vice president of membership development; Gerri Raymond, vice president of tourism; Kimbrough Maier, manager of the State Road 60 welcome center; and Paul Dalton, manager of the Clearwater Beach welcome center.
The layoffs took place on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a fifth employee, a longtime receptionist and office worker, was also let go.
"All of these people … are good people, and I thought the world of all of them," said chamber president and chief executive officer Bob Clifford. "It was just decisions driven by economic considerations, nothing more."
It hasn't escaped the notice of city officials that three of the five chamber employees terminated specialized in tourism. The city has a $190,000 annual contract with the chamber for tourism promotion.
"I think we are going to have to evaluate whether they have the ability to fulfill their contract," Mayor Frank Hibbard said Wednesday. He said he will raise the issue at tonight's City Council meeting.
Clifford, a longtime Clearwater bank executive who took over as chamber president in April, said that even with the terminations, which have reduced the staff from 22 to 17, the chamber can do the job.
"We went through that contract paragraph by paragraph," he said. "We would not have under any circumstances jeopardized our relationship with the city of Clearwater."
Raymond, the vice president of tourism who lost her job, said she understands that the chamber had to trim its expenses. But, she said, efforts to boost tourism were having an effect.
Visits to the State Road 60 welcome center were up 18 percent in September, compared with the same month last year, she said, and at the beach welcome center, the increase was between 7 and 8 percent.
Asked whether the reduced staff has the ability to fulfill the contract with the city to promote tourism, Raymond said, "That remains to be seen."
Clifford said he and another chamber employee, a former marketing director for the city of St. Petersburg hired early this year, will lead the organization's tourism efforts.
"I will be taking the role of the face of tourism out in the community," Clifford said.
Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4166.
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