Visit Topeka official takes Mississippi job

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 10, 2008 by Michael Hooper

By Michael Hooper

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Richard Forester, president of Visit Topeka Inc., has accepted a job as executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Gulfport, Miss.

Forester, 61, has been leader of Visit Topeka, formerly called the Topeka Convention & Visitors Bureau, since 2001.

His last day in Topeka is May 9, and his first day in Mississippi is May 15.

"This is an incredible opportunity," Forester said Wednesday.

The Gulf Coast in Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss., are tourist destinations for gamblers, beach lovers and travelers.

The Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. About 40 percent of the hotel rooms were lost in the hurricane, and hundreds of antebellum homes were destroyed.

Forester said the Gulf Coast residents have worked hard to rebuild.

He said the convention and visitors bureau budget in Topeka was $825,000 annually, while the budget for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau is $3 million, plus a $2 million state grant.

"The whole area is committed to tourism lock, stock and barrel," Forester said.

He and his wife, Kathy, will sell their Topeka home in Prospect Hills.

Forester called his seven years in Topeka a "wonderful learning experience. It has helped me to take on the monumental challenge facing me."

He said the current visioning process would help Topeka.

"We've looked at other towns and how they get things done," Forester said. "None of that matters until Topeka decides what it wants to be and how to get there."

He said the Visit Topeka board of directors, led by chairman Mike Bell, will be in charge of selecting his replacement.

Michael Hooper can be reached

at (785) 295-1293

or michael.hooper@cjonline.com.