Symonized
Fair Board asks CEO to resign.
The Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds asked Fairgrounds CEO Sally Symons to resign after its Board meeting held Friday, September 4.
The resignation was effective as of September 7.
Despite being asked to resign, Symons worked through the weekend “because I wanted to see it through for the staff, vendors and guests,” she said via phone interview on Thursday.
Symons had served as CEO since March, 2014.
The Board offered Symons no specific reason for its request.
The Fair Board currently consists of Jaque Hickman, Paul Dostie, Robert Levy (a former Undersheriff of Alpine County) and Joanne Parsons.
A fifth Board Member, Nina Weisman, spends half the year in Alaska and participates infrequently.
Chris Hartnett and Maria Kemp resigned from the Board last week.
Symons said she sat with her family in the stands on Friday night for the ATV Rodeo event. As she looked around her, she said she thought to herself, “How cool is it that all these people are having a blast.”
Board member Paul Dostie said numbers regarding attendance and Fair revenue will likely be available at the Board’s next meeting on Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.
Dostie said he could not comment on the Symons resignation.
In news of other resignations, longtime Inyo Register Editor Darcy Ellis also stepped down this week after 15 years with the paper (10 as editor).
The third-generation Owens Valley native thanked the community for its support over the years and noted in her comments that “this is a stressful job, and when you make a mistake, thousands of people see it; dozens will not hesitate to let you know.”
Changes at The Inyo Register resulting from a new publisher brought in last year may have been a contributing factor to Ellis’s departure according to The Sheet’s Charles James.
Finally, there was this press release from Inyo County CAO regarding the resignation of Inyo County Counsel Marge Kemp-Williams:
Marge Kemp-Williams announced that she will retire as the County Counsel for Inyo County on December 30, 2015.
After meeting with the Board of Supervisors on August 21, 2015, to confirm what the Supervisors want her to work on between then and December 30, Kemp-Williams advised the Personnel Director that she intended to retire at the end of the year to spend more time with her family. Ms. Kemp reached retirement age in 2014.
Kemp-Williams joined Inyo County in 2013, after serving as the Senior Deputy County Counsel in Colusa County for a little more than five years. Her roots are in private practice where she represented businesses and public entities after graduating from the University of Wisconsin thirty-two years ago.
“The private-public mix Marge brings to the table has benefited the County well,” said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Matt Kingsley.
“Marge brings insights to business transactions and contract construction that enables her to work with the Board and County Administrator to re-evaluate prior approaches to realizing Board goals.”
“Her strict construction of the law provides a solid foundation for analyzing the issues facing the County, while her open mind allows creativity in responding to those issues,” added Kevin Carunchio, Inyo County Administrator.
The County Counsel is appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Carunchio said the County will commence the recruitment process to hire a new County Counsel this week. He said this would include giving the Board of Supervisors an opportunity to evaluate executive recruitment firms to assist in the process.
Kemp-Williams has agreed to work with the County until her successor is found, but expressed a strong hope that would occur by January 2016.
