Two of three finalists for the Haines Borough’s vacant tourism director position are expected to attend a 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20, meet-and-greet at the Haines Borough Public Library.
Borough manager Mark Earnest said Tanya Carlson, a product developer at Holiday Vacations in Eau Claire, Wis., and Ross Silkman, sales manager for Alaska Wildland Adventures in Girdwood, would appear at the event, but Adam Patterson, operations manager for Takshanuk Mountain Trail, will be out of town. Earnest said Patterson still is a finalist for the position.
Carlson’s trip will include a follow-up, face-to-face interview with Earnest.
Carlson is a 2001 graduate of the University of Alaska-Southeast and worked as a naturalist for Holland America. Former tourism director Lori Stepansky resigned effective Oct. 1, and the borough had received nine applications as of a deadline later that month.
“The way that the job was set up is that there was a deadline, but, technically, it’s open until filled,” Earnest said. “However, we’re only considering the applicants who submitted their applications by that deadline, in this round. If, for some reason, none of them are hired, then we would look at all of the ones that came in after that date.”
He said his goal is “to fill the position as quickly as possible.”
“It depends on how those discussions go and whoever the selection is, what their circumstances are, in terms of how long it would take to move into the position,” Earnest said.