Nevada tourism leaders look to future after Marshall

Brenda Scolari wasn’t arsenic amazed arsenic everybody other erstwhile Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall announced past month she was going to resign and instrumentality a occupation with President Joe Biden’s medication successful Washington, D.C.

Marshall had fixed Scolari, the manager of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, a heads-up that she was going to exit. That departure became authoritative Friday.

Marshall didn’t be Friday’s Nevada Commission connected Tourism committee meeting. Normally, she would behaviour the meeting, but connected Friday, that occupation fell to Vice Chairwoman Cynthia Mun, a retired strategical marketer who lives successful Las Vegas and utilized to enactment for the Tropicana and MGM Resorts International.

Scolari said she is afloat assured the committee and her section won’t skip a bushed with the departure of Marshall.

Marshall couldn’t person departed astatine a worse time.

The state’s tourism initiatives, which run nether the Travel Nevada brand, are gearing up to marketplace wintertime visitation. Historically, that has meant encouraging residents of neighboring states and residents successful much populated Southern Nevada to travel for wintertime sports experiences astatine Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe is 1 of those year-round recreational destinations, but wintertime is peculiarly important due to the fact that skiing is simply a large draw. The quality of the Lake Tahoe portion is stunning and radical volition travel from astir the satellite to spot that beauty.

Many Las Vegans got to instrumentality successful the country successful February erstwhile the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche played an also-televised outdoor National Hockey League crippled connected a fairway astatine the lakeside Edgewood-Tahoe Golf Course. That’s the aforesaid people wherever the American Century Celebrity Championship is played each summertime with athletes and entertainers.

But the quality of the people was secondary successful the week starring up to the caller Labor Day weekend, 1 of the astir fashionable times for radical to marque the Tahoe trek.

On the Friday preceding the Labor Day weekend, Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, estimated businesses successful the country would suffer $40.4 cardinal successful gross arsenic a effect of the Caldor Fire bearing down South Lake Tahoe from California.

Lake Tahoe authorities urged radical to enactment distant from the country truthful that firefighters could usage the region’s resources and prevention the municipality from the approaching flames.

‘On everybody’s mind’

Now, Lake Tahoe needs a beardown wintertime play to salvage immoderate of the losses experienced successful the fire.

Surprisingly, nary 1 said thing astir the fires erstwhile commissioners met Friday. Mun attributed that to Nevada unfastened meetings instrumentality rules that prohibit enactment from being taken connected items not specifically noted connected the committee agenda.

“Even though it wasn’t talked about, I’m definite it was connected everybody’s minds,” Mun said successful an interview.

The betterment communicative Friday centered connected national grants the authorities received to assistance the tourism manufacture rebound from harm done by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities received $13.65 cardinal successful national assistance backing from the U.S. Economic Development Administration American Rescue Plan for tourism and outdoor recreation grants.

An NCOT committee divided that wealth up for assorted projects, including $150,000 for Tahoe Meadows managed recreation planning, and the committee formally endorsed it with a unanimous vote.

In her archetypal clip starring it, Mun navigated the committee gathering arsenic if she’d done it before. How agelong she’ll proceed to bash that is successful question due to the fact that Mun is closing successful connected the extremity of her three-year word successful December. She was appointed to the committee by erstwhile Gov. Brian Sandoval and Marshall selected her arsenic vice chair.

It’s unclear whether Gov. Steve Sisolak plans to regenerate Marshall oregon whether he’ll permission the occupation vacant until November 2022 erstwhile voters tin marque their ain prime connected a replacement.

Scolari and Mun don’t cognize what the politician is planning. Scolari and the tourism manufacture volition person the receptor of the politician due to the fact that her presumption is simply a cabinet-level post. Mun said she’s prepared to proceed — oregon measurement down.

“Basically, I’m a facilitator and I ever effort to support Nevada’s champion interests successful caput each the time,” Mun said. “I could ne'er regenerate Kate Marshall and the occupation she’s done, but I’m present to serve.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta astatine rvelotta@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta connected Twitter.