Leslie Doggett, president and chief executive of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, has resigned from her position, citing health and family reasons. She made the announcement late Wednesday afternoon with Edwin F. Hale, the agency?s chairman of the board.
Hale, who is also chairman and chief executive of First Mariner Bank, said that Ronnie Burt, the tourism bureau?s vice president of convention sales and services, would serve as interim president while BACVA conducts a national search to replace Doggett.
“It?s sad to see her go,” Hale said in a phone interview. “She hasn?t been able to work because she?s been ill for quite a while. The impact should be seamless. ? We?ll keep things going and things have been going well with what BACVA has to sell and that?s Baltimore.”
Hale could not say when the agency expects to find a replacement. He said the BACVA wants to replace Doggett quickly but will proceed prudently in its search.
In 2003, Doggett replaced embattled President and Chief Executive Carroll Armstrong, who resigned in February of that year amid a scandal created by a privately commissioned report by Performance Management Inc. That report criticized Armstrong for mismanagement and inflating records to indicate that BACVA was meeting and exceeding sales goals.
Hale said that Doggett, during her tenure, reinvigorated BACVA?s staff following Armstrong?s departure and oversaw numerous marketing initiatives, including the opening of the Inner Harbor Visitor Center and the creation of BACVA?s African-American tourism program. She is also credited with envisioning the city?s “In Celebration of Women” campaign.
