Speros Batistatos. Image provided by South Shore Visitors and Convention Authority
Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was removed from his position Thursday by the tourism bureau’s board.
Andy Qunell, the board’s chairman, called for a motion to remove Batistatos, 57, from his position effective immediately. Batistatos will continue to draw his salary until Dec. 31 when his contract expires but will not have any responsibilities within the organization.
The move comes on the heels of a several tumultuous meetings where Qunell said Batistatos’ contract would not be renewed when it expires Dec. 31. Batistatos was sent a nonrenewal notice in March.
During that time the board also hired a new attorney, Scott McClure, to replace its longtime attorney, Kopka Pinkus and Dolan, after the firm unexpectedly resigned. The resignation was disputed by some board members who claimed the firm was asked to resign after a disagreement over the legality of the board’s use of federal Payroll Protection Plan money to fund a new grant program providing $20,000 to cities and towns in the name of promoting tourism.
Later in the meeting, the board moved to authorize the executive committee to research search firms to assist in finding Batistatos’ replacement. Qunell later in the day referred all questions to Michael Gonzalez, of Steel Shores Media. Qunell via text said he personally hired Gonzalez, a former Post-Tribune correspondent who also does work for Gary, to handle media inquiries at this time. The board did not move to hire an outside public relations firm at the meeting.
Three board members, Christine Cash, Peter Klideris and Doug Spencer, voted against the move. After the vote, Batistatos picked up his belongings and left the theater at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond where the meeting was conducted.
Board members tapped the SSCVA’s current chief financial officer, Cathy Svetanoff, to serve as interim president and CEO, effective immediately. Svetanoff told board members she would accept the post since it is an interim change.
Cash questioned why the position was not going to the next person in line, Katie Holderby, executive vice president and chief projects officer.
Qunell said it did not have to and Svetanoff was selected because she is currently the one running the organization’s finances.
Cash walked out of the meeting after the vote to approve Svetanoff.
The contract committee is expected to meet with Svetanoff in the coming days to renegotiate her salary as she assumes the dual roles. A special meeting will be conducted to approve a new pay rate retroactive to today.
When reached for comment Thursday after the meeting Batistatos said being the president and CEO of the SSCVA has been a great honor.
“I worked with the finest professionals in our industry and we built a great destination marketing organization that was innovative, that was bold and that accomplished things no one in the Region could imagine,” Batistatos said.
“I spent my entire career trying to make this place a better place for my son and my family to grow up in. I will hold my head high as the track record of our accomplishments is beyond question,” Batistatos said.
According to his SSCVA biography, Batistatos, who graduated from Hobart High School, started in the hospitality industry working at the Star-Plaza Theater in Merrillville.
In 1989, he was named to lead the organization that as to become the SSCVA. He held the position for 12 years before leaving for a stint as President and CEO of the Atlantic City (New Jersey) Convention and Visitors Authority, according to his biography.
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