Visitor's Committee Presents Director Candidate

The Visitor’s Committee presented their choice candidate for the position of County Tourism Director to the Kimball County Board of Commissioners the morning of December 18.

After receiving three applications and interviewing two candidates the Visitor Committee has chosen to recommend Jo Caskey to be appointed for the position.

“We were looking for someone who can take initiative to generate our tourism industry with strong communication skills, directing ability, and someone who is very team driven since we have three different entities that are working together with our Visitor’s Committee. We felt that Jo was the best choice for our community,” Visitor’s Committee member Larissa Binod said.

Caskey who currently lives in Arizona has had 16 years of hospitality experience. Caskey also worked in Spearfish, South Dakota where she became familiar with Nebraska’s tourism, according to Binod.

It was not only her work experience but also her personal characteristics that impressed the hiring committee.

“She’s a very enthusiastic and a very organized person. She doesn’t seem to second guess herself. She’s very confident,” Commissioneer Larry Engstrom, who also served on the hiring committee for the position, said.

The only point of concern that the County Commissioners addressed was that of the salary offered for the job. The original salary the Visitor’s Committee had put on applications for the position ranged from $25,000 to $30,000. However, in the process of negotiations between the committee and Caskey, that has been raised to $36,000 plus benefits due to the disparity between the original salary offered and Caskey’s current wages.

“It is higher than we originally anticipated with the package deal that we have put together so we have to pull money from our own budget. We feel like this is the best step we need to do so we’re willing to do that from our budget,” Visitor’s committee member Carinda McConnell said.

Some of Caskey’s duties would include overseeing all administrative, operating and marketing functions for the Committee along with establishing and maintaining ongoing effective communication with government leaders, business and cultural institution leaders, convention and event planners, and the local tourism industry.

She would also represent the Committee at selected local, state, regional and national conventions that serve to foster the betterment of the Committee’s mission to maximize the positive economic impact of visitor dollars to the community by effectively marketing the Kimball Area as a desirable meeting and tourism destination.

An exact date has not been set for when Caskey would take office as County Tourism Director, but according to McConnell, Caskey has stated she will be available to take on the position in January.

The Board of Commissioners approved Caskey’s appointment as County Tourism Director contingent upon Caskey’s acceptance of the job and the benefits she would receive being defined by Commissioner Engstrom who will present his findings to the board at their next meeting on January 3, 2013.