Sister of Senate Prez Jeff Atwater laid off
Tags: Bill Vervaeke, Enid Atwater, Jeff Atwater, layoffs, Maria Gross, Palm Beach County, Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau
| Monday 15 June 2009 1:22 pm
Enid Atwater with brother Jeff Atwater, president of the Florida Senate
The once-embattled Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau laid off five well-known employees, including the sister of Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater.
Marketing vice-presidents Enid Atwater and Bill Vervaeke, who designed the Bureau’s current campaign centered around the 100th anniversary of Palm Beach County, were shown the door Friday in a spate of cost-cutting measures.
Also on the chopping block: Data base support manager Kate Black, an 18-year veteran; Director of Sales for South America Maria Gross; and Marketing Analyst Amy McCants.
“This clearly had something to do with the economy,” said Enid Atwater. “Hard decisions had to be made. The cuts were deep.”
She declined to comment further as CVB honchos had her and the others sign confidentiality agreements as a condition for their severance packages.
According to the tourism agency’s website, it still employs 34 people.
For more and the poll, look below
CVB boss Jorge Pesquera told Page2Live that the county’s hotel bed-tax revenues, which fund the CVB, have been down drastically this year, maybe as much as 20 percent.
“It’s the AIG effect,” he said.
Named about the failed insurance company, the terms are used by tourism officials to describe the fact that large corporations now think twice about sending executives to posh retreats at places like The Breakers or PGA National Resort.
“The image of the county is still an upscale resort image,” Pesquera said. “The AIG effect dealt a devastating blow to tourism here.
“Forecasters tell us the recovery is going to be long, so we have to prepare for the 2010 budget and we regret having to let go some of our key people.”
A source inside added the CVB is still reeling from a financial scandal in late 2006, when group controller Donna Dufer admitted to gambling away online as much as $1.5 million of CVB money.
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Jeff should be kicked out as Senate President. He got elected because BIG SUGAR bankrolled his campaign. People for Integrity in Government (PIG) was a BIG SUGAR joke.
When his sister married Ray Liberty and he got busted, Jeff called his sister and told her she needed to run by him and future marriage because she was ruining the family name.
I can only imagine what who helped him buy the Senate Presidency as a second term Fla Senator. Absolute joke.!!!
I dont understand why government needs to be in the convention and visitors business to begin with. I doubt that anyone’s decision to have a convention or visit palm beach county is going to be influenced by some government agency. I think the warm sunny days and abundant recreational activities market themselves. granted the tax revenues may only be spent on tourism activities, but that begs the question whether the tax is necessary to being with and raises the question whether the CVB exists simply to spend the tax revenue.
[...] More from Lambiet’s Page 2 blog here. [...]
Ray Liberti’s ex-wife right?
And Atwater’s Sis?
And this is Palm Beach County?
Why doesn’t she go get Mayor Frankel to give her a job at CRA…they allegedly pay the right girls there 150K a year or so whether we need them or not….and I read that she can MOONLIGHT all she wants! (Assuming Frankel gives her a “Standing Ovation”)
Wait…didn’t Liberti serve on the City Commission with Mayor Frankel?
Didn’t he have to approve the hiring of Kim Breesenmeister?
Didn’t he go to jail for taking a shoe box full of cash for a “Massage Parlor” deal and also wasn’t he involved with the initial corruption involving the CITY HALL SCAM?
Wow…..we are overwhelmed with such quality people in Government here.
Just because shes the senates sister doesn’t make her any different than anyone else, Absolutely ridiculous, who honestly cares?
I used to be associated with the CVB a few years back. Being able to read what’s going on in one’s former hometown is a great reward of the electronic age. What the author missed is that this represents the end of the Hugo Unruh influence on the CVB. Ms. Atwater was hired more for being Unruh’s sister-in-law than Sen. Atwater’s sister. Being both made her invaluable to Warren “Mac” McLaughlin. Fortunately she turned out to be very talented and was often a thorn in Mac’s side. It is obvious this agency is now being well run and decisions are based on objectivety rather than on favoritism. That is something of which Mac was incapable. It’s too bad for Ms. Atwater but, simply stated, she’s one of millions of economic casualties.
My jaw dropped when I read this. Angus is right on. I too worked at the CVB when it was run by favors and favoritism. Mac would send commissioners on junkets using tourism money. Carol Roberts was notorious for demanding travel.I recall that her friend Anita Mitchell tagged along
Anita Mitchell tagged along on questionable junkets with Carol Roberts?
Good I love it when a right wing repuklican falls victim to Bush’s depression. Also she is an unqualified political Bizotch who spends all her time trading on her name which is how she got this job in the first place.
Jeff runs his bank into the ground and now he is trying for statewide office? With a business mind like his running this state hang onto your wallet!
CVB is not government, as many think. People need to understand this. The main objective is to sell PBC, period.
Bottom line - this is a business. The business is selling PBC. Cuts had to be made because of budgets - Yes
Do you think they would have cut those that were showing ROI? I don’t think so.
Before rendering an opinion - respect those that had to make this decision and the decision to make cuts were the best for the county. Sometimes smart decisions are the hardest to make.
If Carol Roberts were still on the commission then she and her lapdog Anita Mitchell would likely be joining their buddy Mary McCarty in the womens penitentiary.
It’s inevitable in any quasi-government agency like the CVB that politics and who-you-know play a major role in staffing, contracts, etc. It didn’t matter for 20 years before the current economic crisis hammered PB who was in charge at CVB as long as tourism was up each year filling hotel rooms, resturants, etc. When good times come back this will all be forgotten.
Chris and Angus: If you think favoritism is gone from the CVB, I have some nice bridges in NY to sell you.
Comment to #11 - Obviously you are the CVB CEO: You are a bipolor Jeckel & Hyde, the morale is horrific at the CVB. Don’t pontificate about “smart decisions”, you are totally responsible for the (ROI) decline in tourism - and you blame your staff. You call that leadership? The CVB IS government at it’s worst.
So the CVB is not government huh? AND the Tourist Development Board isn’t government AND the Business Development Board isn’t government…and the meetings are closed to the Public…BUT OUR TAX DOLLARS from the County Commission are funneled to these organizations.Where is some good investigative reporting when we need it? Look at the links between all these organizations and the people involved - and while you are at it, fold in the “kingdom” being run at the airport.
Someone should look into Jeff’s secret PAC People for Integrity in Government (PIG) that got him elected in the first place. I’m sure there were some campaign contribution issues with BIG SUGAR.
Could it be that Enid Atwater (formerly Liberti, and sister-in-law of Unruh) was among the list of pink slipped panderers because she needs to be distanced from the group?
When it comes to corruption, comment “16.” from “Unknown” is getting warmer. I’d be shocked if the Feds weren’t already looking into these businesses. The publicly-funded, private corporations are the cornerstones of political corruption. All Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach commissioners indicted have ties to “The Forum”.
Questions that should be answered for Palm Beach County citizens are, ‘Why are “semi-governmental” employees required to “sign confidentiality agreements as a condition for their severance packages”?’, and ‘What do they have to hide?’
We should also demand an answer to, “Why are Palm Beach County Commissioners still funneling money to corporations that operate behind closed doors?”
Until publicly-funded, private organizations operate in the sunshine, corruption will continue. Legislation is needed immediately, simply stated, “No open meetings and records, no public money.”
Perhaps if the public knew who the “Atwater” was in the Cypress-Atwater corporation it would help answer why Enid was laid off. The Texas based company was formed by a Cypress Realty principle about the same time it was finalizing the development deal for West Palm Beach Parking Lot B.
To Family Ties; why do you think they have those big spit eating grins in the picture? They have been raping the the public forever and it justs keeps getting better!
It is so terribly immoral that a semi-government agency like the convention bureau boldy defies sunshine laws and transparency. Meeting notices and minutes of meetings, committee’s and boards are not public record by design. Board agenda’s are veiled in website passwords to hide, what? When govenment hides secrets, no citizen is safe. A culture of paranoid leadership hides a multitude of sins. What does “about 20%” drop in tourism revenue mean? Doesn’t the CEO know? What arrogance rules this agency? Did Senator Atwater have his sister moved from this snake pit - before it all caves into corruption?
Interesting - the
Interesting - the only thing missing in case you prosecutors are monitoring is that Burt Aaronson and Karen Marcus also benefited from free travel coordinated by Mac McLaughlin for years and years while the County budget contribution went up for the CVB …hmmmm. And how many contracts with county issues did Anita Mitchell have at the time.
CVB be gone utilizing tax dollars! If it is so important to the hotels, restaurants, taxi companies, airport ,recreation facilities and halls let those private businesses fund their own promotions! Take that total budget out of or tax base. Why do I care if the Breakers is running at 20-30 % less capacity????
Ted,you really are a moron. Why should someone care if the Breakers is off 20-30%? Ask their 2,000 employees, their food purveyors and other suppliers, the school board and other government taxing agencies, restaurants, retailers, attractions, and many other local businesses.Your stupidity doesn’t warrant a respnse, but I’d like to give others something to think about when it comes to tourism. My husband works at a hotel and we are praying he does not get laid off.
Ted is either a moron or is deliberately trying to distort.
Tourism promotion is paid by the bed tax. By state law it can be used only on the enhancement of tourism and not general government operations or services.
The bed tax is a levy on tourists used to further tourism and is used for beaches,culture, sports events, film and tv, and marketing.