Houston -- The convention bureau board here is seeking a replacement for chief executive Gerard "Jordy" Tollett, who took a leave of absence during the summer after his lunchtime visits to bars were broadcast on local television.
Tollett, whose five-year contract with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau expires in February, was invited to apply for his position as part of a national search.
The board plans to form a search committee this week, according to a bureau statement, with a list of candidates to be compiled within the next 90 days.
The board's 28 members acted at the behest of Mayor Bill White, who had criticized Tollett's behavior. The city provides the bureau more than $10 million annually from hotel bed taxes.
Tollett took a leave of absence in July after television station KPRC news reported that he was served four drinks at a bar mid-day within an hour and five drinks during a nearly two-hour lunch on another day. On both occasions, Tollett then drove back to work, according to the report, which contained undercover video of Tollett drinking at the bars.
Tollett claimed the drinks were Diet Cokes, although he acknowledged that he has drunk alcohol during the day.
Tollett has served as the bureau's president and CEO since 1997. A long-time figure in the Houston hospitality industry, he was also director of the city's Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department, beginning in 1981.
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