Published: June 17, 2009 05:50 pm      

GLYNN: Politics has no place in tourism industry

Erie County has apparently borrowed a page from our local government on how to interfere with the tourist industry.

Closer to home, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., the lead agency to promote tourism to the Cataract City, has been under constant attack from self-styled experts who think that more of the NTCC’s annual budget should be spent on the domestic front.

In a word, those same experts have complained that John Percy, president and chief executive officer of the NTCC, should cut back on expensive trips to India and other far away places.

Some narrow-minded individuals even think that most if not all the Falls-bound tourist traffic should be routed through the Pine Avenue business section.

From time immemorial, debate has raged over how visitors should be directed to the Niagara Falls State Park. Those staunch supporters for tugging at the tourists to take a particular route never seem to realize that perhaps visitors want to see the falls first.

The political interference in Niagara County was at one time so blatant that some dim-witted decision maker in Lockport actually approved the official travel guide showing there were no bridges to Canada. (That’s one way to discourage cross-border travel.)

It was a clear example of the kind of irreplaceable damage that someone can inflict on the hospitality industry.

While Erie County Executive Chris Collins, an astute businessman with a proven track record, shows no signs of resorting to such shenanigans, he is directly interfering with the operations of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau.

It seems Collins wants to micromanage the Buffalo CVB. First, he forced the resignation of bureau president and CEO Richard S. Geiger and then upset board member Keith M. Belander, an executive with M&T Bank so much that he quit in disgust but not before blasting Collins.

On Monday, Jennifer J. Parker, the chairwoman of the CVB board, resigned in disgust, noting the political intrusions from Collins’ office robbed her of “the opportunity to effectively lead and serve.”

Now there is the inevitable talk of other board members and bureau staffers ready to leave.

Meanwhile, Collins has replaced Geiger by board member Drew Cerza, founder of the popular National Buffalo Wing Festival. There was apparently no effort to search elsewhere or even talk with tourism executives with far more experience.

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IN THE PARK: Jay Williams, 92, who died in Battle Creek, Mich., last week, lived in Model City, Lewiston, for many years, even after retiring from local industries.

In the mid-1980s, he signed up with the former Green Thumb corps that took meticulous care of the new landscaped Great Lakes Gardens in the Niagara Falls State Park. Eventually he was transferred to the full-time staff that maintains the flower beds and gardens throughout the nation’s oldest state park.

“I finally found a job that I can enjoy every minute of the day,” Jay said in an interview. His parks commitment lasted 13 years.

Now matter how busy he was with the flowers or shrubs, he always found time to politely point a visitor in the right direction, offer helpful hints on how to get around the park and downtown or answer questions about local history.

A skilled woodworker and woodcarver, he was known for building various fixtures for family and friends.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Buffalo Society of Artists and Bob’s Olde Books, 480 Center St., Lewiston, are sponsoring a free program “Poets at An Exhibition,” at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Artpark Gallery, adjacent to the amphitheater.

Another free program, “The Mind’s Eye & The Eye’s Mind. More Poets at an Exhibition,” is set for June 28.

Bookstore owner Bob Giannetti said the new series launched this season offers a unique mix of art, poetry and music.