Salaries of tourism bureau directors vary
Published 6:00 pm Sunday, May 6, 2018
The director for the convention and tourist bureau makes almost a quarter of a million dollars a year, which I think is exorbitant.
How much do the bureaus in Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe pay for their tourism directors?
Shelley Johnson, head of the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau, makes $211,000 a year. The visitors bureau’s latest financial review, released in July, shows that Johnson’s salary was $199,800 in 2016.
Other forms of compensation that year: insurance, $17,363; retirement, $12,000; vehicle, $1,679; travel, $2,268; registration fees, $350; conference travel, $11,206; and continuing professional education, $1,865.
The Lafayette Parish Convention and Visitors Commission’s latest audit report shows that its executive director, Benjamin Berthelot, earned a salary of $144,720 in 2016. Other compensation for the year: insurance, $7,695; retirement, $18,252; vehicle lease, $8,220; and reimbursements, $155.
According to the Alexandria/Pineville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s most recent financial review, agency head Sherry Smith-Ellington earned a salary of $88,565 in 2016. Other compensation: health insurance, $8,043; life insurance, $330; long-term care insurance, $2,724; retirement, $3,918; and travel, $4,633.
Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau CEO Stacy A. Brown earned $156,138 in salary in 2016, according to the agency’s latest audit report. Other compensation: insurance, $28,725; retirement, $15,454; business travel, $7,635; education-related travel, $1,169; and “other,” $688.
The Monroe-West Monroe Convention and Visitors Bureau’s latest financial review shows that agency head Alana Cooper received a salary of $105,487 in 2016. Other compensation: insurance, $20,974; retirement, $13,713; vehicle, $4,720; reimbursements, $799; registration fees, $3,119; and conference travel, $8,071.
Online: www.lla.la.gov.
Vehicle registrant must have license
Can a person in Louisiana with no driver’s license buy an auto and have it registered under her or his name for someone else with a driver’s license to drive?
“The person buying the vehicle cannot register it or title it if they do not have a compliant driver’s license,” Karen St. Germain, commissioner of the state Office of Motor Vehicles, wrote in an email.
“That person who does not have the driver’s license can purchase the vehicle. But it has to be registered and titled in a person’s name who has a valid driver’s license.”
Online: www.expresslane.org.
The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.
