KEYS TOURISM AGENCY APPROVES BIG CHANGES TO RESTORE TRUST

a woman standing in front of a window with her arms crossed

Uncomfortable conversations led to unavoidable questions and unprecedented decisions at the Sept. 17 meeting of the Keys tourism agency.

Kara Franker, who was hired as the new president and CEO of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council following last year’s critical audits of the agency, was candid in her criticisms, though careful not to place blame on what she called “a skeleton crew.” In comparison, Franker said, the TDC for the Palm Beaches has a staff of 55. Monroe County’s TDC has a staff of 13, with its former director Stacey Mitchell often not permitted to hire additional employees.

Franker’s message was clear: Things are changing — now.

The board of the TDC on Sept. 17 approved three new senior executive level positions — a vice president of finance/accounting; a vice president of communications/marketing and a vice president of administration/legal, who will be a lawyer. The three new vice presidents will be in addition to the new chief financial officer (CFO), which the county commission had already approved.

In addition to the new full-time positions, which Franker will start filling immediately, the TDC board green-lighted three temporary consultants for what Franker described as “triage” for the most pressing issues raised in the audits. Those consultants, for about $255,000, will get to work immediately rewriting financial policies and procedures, hiring practices and the TDC’s marketing plan.

“We have a lot of trust to restore,” said Franker. “We’re dealing with public funds and with the most important economic driver for this community.”

One of the most significant potential changes likely involves bringing many services “in-house,” services such as public relations and digital marketing that are currently handled by other agencies with TDC contracts. Currently, NewmanPR handles public relations for Keys tourism and Two Oceans Digital handles the TDC’s website, online marketing and social media functions. Under Two Oceans’ current contract, the Key West-based company receives much of the advertising revenue from Keys businesses that advertise on the TDC website at fla-keys.com. When referring to this revenue, Franker asked the TDC board, “Did you know that if we ran our own marketing co-op programs in-house, we could create a new funding stream outside of public tourism taxes?”

Franker reminded the board that while she has been particularly impressed with the skills of several TDC staff members, “We don’t have anyone in-house who’s an expert in communications, marketing, website design, public relations, social media, content creation or media buying and advertising.” Those services are all handled by contracted agencies.

Franker said she has had some admittedly uncomfortable but entirely professional conversations with Andy Newman, owner of NewmanPR, which has handled public relations for the Florida Keys for more than 40 years. NewmanPR was criticized in the county’s TDC audit and a follow-up assessment.

“I’ve had the pleasure of having several conversations with Andy Newman, and one thing was clear in that what they’ve been doing is actually way more than what most PR firms in the tourism industry typically do,” Franker said, adding that she doesn’t want all that work, and all the relationships that NewmanPR has cultivated over the decades, to simply disappear if the TDC brings its PR services in-house.

Franker proposed and the board agreed that it will recommend to the county commission that NewmanPR’s contract with the county be terminated in about four months while the entities work together to devise a transition that could see many of NewmanPR’s staff brought in as TDC employees. 

“I think there’s an opportunity to take what’s been going on and build an in-house team that brings Andy’s team in-house — if they choose — without losing all that history and intellectual capital. I think there could be a possibility to continue working very closely with Andy and his team.”

Finally, Franker also introduced the concept of destination stewardship to the TDC board, which prioritizes the promotion of a place “for the benefit and well-being of every person in a community,” including those who live there and not just visitors. 

“Oftentimes, there seems to be a disconnect between the destination organization and the community it claims to serve. This could mean that there is little narrative about the shared value it represents within the community,” stated a slide Franker showed the board. “A destination organization’s customers must include its residents — our families, our friends, our neighbors, our community.”

Mandy Miles
Mandy Miles drops stuff, breaks things and falls down more than any adult should. An award-winning writer, reporter and columnist, she's been stringing words together in Key West since 1998. "Local news is crucial," she says. "It informs and connects a community. It prompts conversation. It gets people involved, holds people accountable. The Keys Weekly takes its responsibility seriously. Our owners are raising families in Key West & Marathon. Our writers live in the communities we cover - Key West, Marathon & the Upper Keys. We respect our readers. We question our leaders. We believe in the Florida Keys community. And we like to have a good time." Mandy's married to a saintly — and handy — fishing captain, and can't imagine living anywhere else.