TCLA Administrator Jim Divincen Announces His Retirement

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — Tri-County Lodging Association (TCLA) Administrator Jim Divincen has announced he is retiring, after 27 years of service. Divincen made the announcement at the TCLA Board of Directors regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

"It's truly been an honor and a privilege to promote and advertise the Lake of the Ozarks for the past twenty-seven years," Divincen said. "I've been so thankful and blessed to be able to work with such an outstanding Board of Directors, staff and business community through the years. I wish the current TCLA Board of Directors the utmost of future successes in promoting the Lake of the Ozarks to benefit all Lake-area businesses."

Sue Westenhaver, chair of TCLA, commented that Divincen's leadership has been key to the development and continued growth of the Lake of the Ozarks area.

"Thanks to Jim's dedication and hard work on behalf of TCLA, he successfully brought in more than $3.5 million in cooperative marketing funds from the Missouri Division of Tourism to be used to advertise and market the Lake as a family vacation destination," Westenhaver noted. "In large part, it's because of Jim that the Lake of the Ozarks was named the 'Best Recreational Lake in the Nation' by readers of USA TODAY," she added. "We will certainly miss Jim and we wish him good health and happiness as he enters into this new phase of his life."

Divincen said some of his career highlights include:

-being appointed to the Missouri Tourism Commission by Governor Matt Blunt from 2005 to 2009

-his involvement the last two decades in the legislation, recently signed by Governor Parsons, that extends the summer season by prohibiting Missouri's public schools from starting sooner than 14 days before Labor Day, which has been a top priority of Missouri's travel industry.

-most recently, the fact that TCLA has had back-to-back record lodging tax collections the last two years.

Divincen’s retirement comes on the heels of one of the TCLA's most tumultuous moments: less than four months ago, voters rejected a polarizing proposal from the TCLA and Lake Convention & Visitor Bureau (CVB) to raise the lodging tax for the purpose of funding a Lake area destination tournament soccer complex. The idea had its supporters, but a grassroots community campaign against it brought voters out to overwhelmingly defeat the proposal at the ballot box: 4,682 No votes to 1,610 Yes votes.

The issue thrust TLCA into the public consciousness, with some alleging shady or even illegal practices. Camden County Presiding Commissioner Greg Hasty suggested the TCLA should pursue a process audit; the organization, in response to requests and concerns from the public, did make past audits available on their website, tri-countylodging.com. Hasty also asked Camden Prosecutor Heather Miller to investigate the TCLA’s operations and allegations from the public: Miller passed that along to the State Attorney General’s Office, who announced on Feb. 14 they had found no evidence of illegal activity.

UPDATE: TCLA Public Relations Manager Rebecca Rupard said there would be no interim TCLA Administrator, and the search for a new Administrator would begin soon.