Nancy Carpenter will not lead the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation after Sept 30. Her future as executive director for the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau is still up in the air.
The CVB’s board, which also oversees CCHF, voted in a lengthy executive session Monday night not to renew Carpenter’s contract as the Heritage Foundation executive director. It did not vote whether to renew her contract for her CVB position.
Both contracts expire Sept. 30.
“The board is in ongoing discussions about her contract with the CVB,” Board Attorney John Brady told The Dispatch after the meeting.
The board was in executive session for about an hour and 45 minutes. When they emerged from behind closed doors, President Liz Terry declined to comment on what had happened, instead directing The Dispatch to Brady.
Brady said board member Whirllie Byrd moved to not renew Carpenter’s CCHF contract, and Terry gave the second. The motion passed 5-3, but Brady declined to say who voted which way.
“I’d rather not mention that at this time,” he said. “You’ll have access to the minutes once they’re completed.”
Brady declined to comment on whether the board had discussed hiring a replacement or what form a search process might take, citing the fact that it was an executive session matter.
Carpenter declined to comment Monday night on the board’s decision.
Longtime board member Rissa Lawrence said she was sorry it had come to this.
“I’m heartbroken that some of our board members have made the decision that they’ve made,” Lawrence said.
Carpenter took the reins of CVB and CCHF in 2011. Those contacts had run concurrently, mostly on three-year terms, and were last renewed in 2019. Carpenter’s combined salary for running both organizations was $120,545, with $102,556 of that coming from the CVB and the rest from the CCHF.
The CCHF is a nonprofit affiliated with the CVB that oversees the Tennessee Williams Home, among other responsibilities. It also played a key role in the annual Spring Pilgrimage of the city’s antebellum homes.
In 2019 the Preservation Society of Columbus, made up of historic homeowners, notified the CVB that it wanted to take over the tour of homes portion of the Spring Pilgrimage. This year was the first time the PSC-led Pilgrimage was held, after the tours were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday’s was the third meeting during which Carpenter’s contracts were discussed. The topic came up at the CVB’s June 27 meeting, but no action was taken. The Dispatch reported at that time that the board was considering splitting the positions of CVB and CCHF director, as well as reducing the terms to one year.
Contract talks were taken up again at a July 13 special meeting, but no action was taken then, either.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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