A supposed rift with Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Nancy Carpenter has gotten Joe Beckett removed from the CVB board.
Lowndes County supervisors voted 4-0 to remove Beckett during Monday’s regular meeting.
Supervisors appointed Beckett in 2021 to serve a three-year term on the nine-member CVB board, which includes four appointments from the county, four from the city and a joint appointment of the Columbus mayor and board of supervisors president.
District 3 Supervisor John Holliman added Beckett’s to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. When the issue came up, Holliman said that Beckett was causing problems with Carpenter.
“I understand that he’s trying to get rid of (Carpenter),” Holliman said. “In the past when somebody’s causing problems, we take them off the board.”
Holliman moved, with a second by District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders, to remove Beckett, effective immediately. Supervisor Jeff Smith of District 4 and Leroy Brooks of District 5 joined in approving the measure, while President Trip Hairston abstained.
When The Dispatch approached Holliman after the meeting, he declined to comment further.
Two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Dispatch off the record alleged Beckett had been telling people in the community he was going to have Carpenter fired.
Hairston told The Dispatch after the meeting he abstained because he thought Holliman, Beckett and Carpenter should have met and tried to resolve the issue.
“I talked with (Carpenter) last week and suggested to her that she and (Beckett and Holliman) have a meeting together eye-to-eye and get on the same page,” Hairston said. “That didn’t happen, and that’s why I abstained. They didn’t take my advice.”
County Administrator Jay Fisher told The Dispatch Monday afternoon that board appointees were at-will and could be removed by the board at any time.
“To the best of my knowledge if they feel like someone is not fulfilling their obligation to a board they can withdraw their appointment,” Fisher said.
No cross words
Beckett told The Dispatch Monday morning he wasn’t sure why the board voted to remove him, and he “wasn’t aware” of any problems between him and Carpenter.
“Nobody has mentioned that at all,” Beckett said. “… I’ve always thought I was well-appreciated on the board. I’m not aware of any issues with my performance, and I’ve never had any cross words with (Carpenter) or anybody down there.”
He denied trying to get Carpenter fired.
“That’s a board decision,” Beckett said. “That’s not anything one person can do unilaterally.”
CVB Board President Liz Terry, when contacted by The Dispatch Monday afternoon, was taken aback by the supervisors’ decision.
“It does not make sense to me,” Terry said. “I would love for someone to let me know why they decided to remove him from the board. I’m totally lost. … I have no idea why this happened.”
Terry questioned why the board of supervisors didn’t notify the CVB board this was coming.
“It’s strange,” she said. “I would think that somebody would notify somebody else about what’s been said and what the problem is without just removing them from the board. If I was taken off the board, I would certainly want somebody to let me know why they were doing it.”
Carpenter did not return phone calls seeking comment by press time.
The county’s other appointees are Rissa Lawrence, Richard Morgan and Brock Reynolds. The city’s appointees are Terry, Jay Patel, Whirllie Byrd and Melodie Cunningham.
Matt Bogue is the joint appointee.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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