It has been four months since Visit Estes Park had a permanent chief executive officer of the organization tasked with advertising, marketing, and promoting the Estes Park area as one of the country’s premier mountain destinations.

That’s expected to change within the next three months or sooner according to Sean Jurgens, VEP board chair after the VEP board of directors selects a new chair later this month.

“It really depends on when the person we select will be able to begin working for us,” Jurgens said this week. He hopes the candidate selected by January 31 will begin working for VEP no later than March 1.

SearchWide Global, an executive talent search firm specializing in personnel for the travel industry, has been leading the effort to collect resumes of those interested in the CEO position since late November. The firm has been reviewing applications received and later this week an interview team of six is expected to review the paperwork of up to seven interested parties.

From those candidates, Jurgens expects the team to select up to four individuals who will be interviewed virtually within the next two weeks. By the end of January, he said two finalists are likely to be interviewed in person before an employment offer will be extended. No public interviews are expected, he said.

Only two VEP board members, chair Jurgens and vice chair Deb Gibson, are serving on the interview team. Others include Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shaddock McNally who represents the interests of the county, one of the governmental agencies responsible for appointing VEP board members. Mayor Gary Hall represents the town’s interests on the team, as the town appoints four of the seven VEP board members.

Others on the interview team are Reed Woodford, CEO of Kent Mountain Adventure Center, and Brian Hauser, co-owner of the Bull Pin.

Once the new CEO has come on board and received an introduction to the position, Mike Zumbaugh, financial director who has been filling in as interim director, will transition back to his permanent position, Jurgens said.

VEP was formed in 2009 as a local marketing district, a designated area that imposes a tax on certain lodging services to promote tourism and economic growth. The CEO leads a staff of eight and directs expenditures of the organization’s $4.65 million budget.

The current staff of VEP includes:

  • Mike Zumbaugh, Interim CEO and Finance Director
  • Rebecca Domenico-Gelsinger, Operations Director
  • Rachel Ward Oppermann, Marketing Director
  • Kendall Akin, Creative Manager
  • Papae Litchfield, Communications Manager
  • John Berry, Photographer
  • Cindy Mackin, Community Engagement Director
  • Dana Paiement, Destination Development Senior Manager