The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau board was in executive session for about 30 minutes Tuesday when a medical situation halted the meeting altogether.
CVB CEO Nancy Carpenter told The Dispatch that board member Richard Morgan briefly passed out while the board was discussing a personnel matter and potential litigation.
Neither Carpenter nor board members elaborated on what caused the medical issue. First responders arrived to evaluate Morgan on site. Then he was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for treatment. Carpenter told The Dispatch that Morgan was released from the hospital later Tuesday.
The Dispatch could not reach Morgan by press time Tuesday.
The board met for more than two hours in open session before retiring to executive session. On its agenda Tuesday was approving its Fiscal Year 2024 budget, considering how to use its $591,925 in American Rescue Plan Act funds and whether to hire a consultant for those expenditures. Also expected was a vote on renewing Carpenter’s contract, which expires Sept. 30.
While a quorum of board members remained after Morgan’s exit, the board voted to postpone the meeting until 3 p.m. Thursday at the CVB’s downtown office so he could take part in further discussions.
“We feel like all of our board members need to be present as much as possible,” board president Liz Terry said. “Of course, Richard could not help what happened there. He got sick.”
“Because of his health at the time, we all thought that it was best for the meeting to reconvene on Thursday and for us to think of Richard in our prayers, and that’s the most important thing right now,” Carpenter added.
Carpenter’s contract was renewed for a year in 2022, after she had previously served as CVB director under 3-year contracts. In August, the board appointed Jay Patel, Matt Bogue and Quinn Brislin to review the CEO contract and recommend revisions prior to a vote on renewal.
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