CLEARFIELD – Board members of the Clearfield County Recreation and Tourism Authority discussed ways for them to revamp at Wednesday’s regular meeting.
Because of the changes over the past year, board chairperson Nancy Micks sought and received approval for a committee, which would be established by her to work with Executive Director Holly Komonczi, to propose recommended changes to the CCRTA’s bylaws.
“I think it’s imperative that we do this,” Micks said.
According to a prior GantDaily report, the board announced the resignation of former director Sandy Fink-Barrett following a mandatory staff meeting in February. Komonczi was appointed to serve in the director position on an interim basis before being formally hired at board meeting in May.
In addition, board members engaged in discussion about the regular formation of its committees. Last month, they formed a nomination committee, which consisted of board members Jane Elling, Wilson Fisher, Greg Sheehan and John Sobel.
Elling contacted all board members and developed committees based on their individual interests. Micks thought it was best if Elling reaffirmed the committee designations with the board members.
“We need to take a look at it. We want to make sure they’ll work well with each other on the task at hand,” Micks said. She advised that the board votes on officers only; she said committee members are appointed, not elected.
Komonczi then asked the board if they believed any committees needed “revamped” or combined. Micks suggested that they take a look at the bylaws set for the CCRTA. She said they need committees who are not only meeting on a regular basis but also helping better the board.
Micks said they needed to “pull all their heads together” and establish guidelines and expectations for the committees to follow. She said those need to be communicated to the committees and their members.
The board discussed its services further following a “feel good” story from administrative assistant, Sue Swales Vitullo. On Tuesday, Vitullo had six visitors come into the CCRTA office.
According to her, they couldn’t “get enough” of the building’s history and were thrilled to be there and in Clearfield County. She said the group had reunited here; some were from Michigan and others were from Connecticut.
She said Clearfield became the destination of their reunion, as it was the “midway point” between Michigan and Connecticut. She said the group was staying in Treasure Lake and visited Denny’s Beer Barrel & Pub as well as local wineries.
Vitullo said she and Komonczi offered them literature and suggested other local tourism spots. For her, Vitullo said it “felt good” to be of service to the group.
Komonczi said she’s hearing more and more from visitors that Clearfield is the “halfway point.” Micks said the CCRTA needs to prepare to continue to be that place of destination.
In doing so, Micks said the board needs to determine who they are while moving forward. She said they must be more than a collage of letters and need to brand themselves in the business that they’re here to do.
Komonczi said she has started to utilize that Clearfield County is the “halfway point to everywhere” in her promotions. She said she has also continued to use their “Back Woods, Back Roads, Back Waters” theme in CCRTA literature.
Micks said they needed to look at “all the pieces” and decide how to proceed. She said they, too, need to work closely with the downtown groups in Clearfield and DuBois, so that they promote the same information.
The board went into a brief executive session for personnel purposes. Afterward, they approved for Komonczi to develop a job description for one tourism development staff position.