Late Thursday afternoon Kara Franker officially resigned as Visit Estes Park’s CEO. Her last day on the job here will be September 5.
The resignation had been anticipated as it was well-known and publicized that Franker had interviewed for, and on July 30 been offered the position of President/CEO of the Monroe County, FL Tourist Development Council. Her acceptance of the offer was dependent upon the successful negotiation of an employment agreement.
A special meeting of the VEP Board of Directors has been set for 2 p.m. Aug. 15 via Zoom to discuss naming an Interim CEO and recruitment of a new CEO.
“It has been such an honor and a privilege to serve the community in this role, and I hope you will look back on our time together as being productive. I know I will. I have learned so much from each of you and will take that along with me in my journey. Thank you for collaborating so diligently on our many ambitious feats over the last three years. I believe we have much to be proud of and I love Estes Park,” Franker wrote in her resignation letter to the VEP Board of Directors, Town of Estes Park officials and County Commissioners.
While a specific date for a joint meeting between the Town Board and the County Commissioners to review VEP’s 2025 operating plan has not been established, Franker agreed to lead that meeting as requested by VEP Chair Sean Jurgens, before her departure if possible. Franker joined the Visit Estes Park tourism marketing team in April 2021.
During the intervening three years she was instrumental in growing the staff, introduced VEP to cutting edge marketing initiatives such as AI, was a significant partner in promoting the advantages of an expanded tourism sales tax on behalf of increased funding for workforce housing and child care support and lead efforts to develop new events such as Frozen Dead Guys, and expand activities surrounding cold season events such as Catch the Glow. She also was responsible for VEP being reinstated as an accredited Destination Marketing Organization.
What is Visit Estes Park?
Visit Estes Park was formed in 2009 for the purpose of advertising, marketing and promoting tourism in the Estes Park area through a Local Marketing District which are Special Districts created under Colorado’s Special District Act that funds marketing and other initiatives to support tourism and economic development in a designated area. Special Districts in Colorado are local governments, which include counties, cities and towns, school districts. Because Colorado law limits the types of services that county governments can provide to residents, Special Districts are created to fill the gaps that may exist in the services counties provide and the services voters may desire. As a Special District, a Local Marketing District, such as Visit Estes Park, can levy and collect taxes to fund its activities.