The Mountaineer

After months of discussions about hiring a director to promote Maggie Valley’s festival grounds, aldermen are once again considering applications. 

Town Manager Tim Barth said about 20 resumes have been submitted since the position was re-advertised. Those resumes were passed on to aldermen.

“Board members got copies of the resumes last week, but I haven’t received any feedback, yet,” said Barth. “I think they are waiting until we have a board meeting. They will probably voice their opinions at that time.”

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, members of the town’s Parks, Recreation and Festival Advisory Committee (PRFAC) have for months been requesting that aldermen hear from the owner of Nashville-based MP Presents, Mark Perthel, who offers decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Perthel’s work includes experience as a talent buyer for major theme parks, including Walt Disney, Six Flags and Bele Chere and with big-name clients, including Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne and U2.

Today, he works on a contractual basis planning non-music entertainment events, consulting artists, management and talent buyers and acting as a talent buyer for various venues. PRFAC chairwoman Tammy Brown said Perthel sees tremendous potential for Maggie’s grounds and would like to meet with aldermen merely to discuss possibilities.

Perthel was scheduled to appear before aldermen during the most recent meeting, Oct. 20, but had to cancel at the last minute due to a dental emergency.  At the request of PRFAC members, aldermen agreed to hear from Perthel before determining a precise course of action for hiring a new director.

Barth said Friday, town staff are in the process of trying to nail down a date to meet with Perthel. Meanwhile, all else is on hold.

“We hope to move very quickly after meeting with him to narrow down the field and figure out where to go,” said Barth. “(Aldermen) will narrow the field to do interviews at some point, and I don’t know how many there will be, but they will try to get everybody who looks like they might possibly be a good candidate.”

Barth said he is uncertain how soon aldermen will begin conducting interviews.

“A lot of that depends on whether we are able to meet with Mark or not. I really can’t say because I just don’t know what his situation is gong to be and when he’s going to be able to meet,” he said. “It really depends on that.”

While the process has been slow, the issue before aldermen is not a new one.

More than a year ago, town leaders began discussing the possibility of hiring a full-time director to promote the festival grounds and seek new event opportunities. Bill Cody was hired in February among a pool of about 25 applicants, but accomplished little and was terminated a few months later.

With Cody’s termination, discussions of hiring a grounds director resurfaced. Aldermen have entertained numerous possibilities, but remain unclear about how the process should proceed. With input from PRFAC members and tourism leader Lynn Collins, a new job description was drafted and advertised.  About 20 individuals applied, and more applications are coming in.

During a special called meeting Oct. 1, aldermen discussed forming a selection committee to consider applicants and make a recommendation to the board of aldermen. That idea was challenged during the regularly scheduled aldermen meeting, Oct. 20, by members of the community who said another committee would be redundant since the PRFAC is already in place.

Following that meeting, Barth explained the aldermen’s idea to form a selection committee, separate from the advisory board.

“The last time (a director was hired) the town board did it on their own — they narrowed the field, then conducted interviews,” said Barth. “They wanted more community involvement this time, because this person is going to be working primarily with the town, but also with others who are bringing shows in and others who are working collectively to promote Maggie as a whole. We thought it would be good to get community input, but the board still has the final say.”

The existing advisory committee is charged with a different role, Barth said, from what the board would expect from a selection committee.

“The parks board approves events that comes before them. …Yes they would, I think, promote the festival grounds to the extent they can, but that’s not really their role as a board, and that’s what this position is about, promoting those grounds to people,” he said. “We thought it was outside of their area of what they really do as a board. It may be that the town board will see that maybe after they get the applications and resumes and speak with Perthel, they may decide the parks board is the appropriate board to (make a recommendation). I don’t know, but the idea of appointing a designated board to do that is still a possibility.”

Barth said Friday, the possibility of forming a selection committee is still being considered, but like the rest of the process, is on hold until a meeting is scheduled with Perthel.

“I’m not sure if they want to go that route or not,” he said of aldermen forming a selection committee.  “I think they are more focused on trying to move forward as quickly as they can. It’s a little bit fluid right now because we’re not sure what the situation is with Mr. Perthel. We’re waiting to find that out. That will give us a better gauge of what might happen.”