Wayne Bennett, executive director of the Fresno CVB, resigned at the bureau’s board meeting July 26. His last day will be Aug. 31.
According to Bennett, he decided to leave the bureau to do something different with his life and spend more time with his family.
“I got married in April and wanted to spend some time with my wife,” he says, adding that the couple plans to travel the country and photograph events such as triathlons and bike races along the way.
Bennett, who started his post at the bureau in November 2005, leaves at the tail end of what was a turbulent time at the CVB.
Just last year Deanna Gonzalez, a former bookkeeper at the bureau, admitted to stealing $56,081 from the organization between May 2005 and October 2006, according to Bennett.
“It took the CPAs to find it and they found it. She came clean and said she did it,” Bennett said, adding that Gonzalez is to be sentenced Aug. 16.
Bennett says all of the bureau’s losses were covered by insurance, and after a time of hardship, things are looking up.
“The bureau is in great shape; they’ve got money in the bank and the bills are paid,” he says. “It was a good time to go. I had accomplished what I wanted to accomplish when I came here.”
Oran Cogdill, former co-owner of the Best Western in Fresno, will take over as the bureau’s leader in Bennett’s absence and admits he is thrilled about representing the city.
“Fresno is a phenomenal brand,” he says. “There is so much going on not just in the city, but in the county as well. Unfortunately, we are one of the best-kept secrets in the Central Valley, and that is going to change. Wayne has this entire bureau turned and ready to face the future.”
Cogdill says the bureau has assembled a search committee to find Bennett’s successor and hopes to appoint a new bureau chief by the end of the year.
