Mayor Tom on Frank Poe's Abrupt Adios: "We Will Conduct a Nationwide Search"

Sam Merten

First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans (left) and Frank Poe (right), the city's director of convention and event services, signing the financial documents finalizing the convention center hotel project in August 2009

​I just returned from today's showdown between the city of Dallas and the Museum of the American Railroad in Judge Martin Hoffman's courtroom. But before I get to that contentious item, first here's a statement that just landed in the Unfair Park mailbag from Mayor Tom Leppert concerning the sudden departure of Convention & Event Services Director Frank Poe:

Statement of Mayor Tom Leppert to news that the director of Convention and Event Services, Frank Poe would be leaving Dallas for another position.

"We certainly appreciate all that Frank has done, especially with the efforts to build our convention business and the convention center hotel. He understood the importance of a hotel to the success of our city and was among those who, despite the roadblocks over the years, persistently kept it on the front burner. We wish him the best.

"Fortunately, we have a very strong team in place to keep up our efforts to move our city back into the top ranks of the nation's convention industry.

"We will conduct a nationwide search to fill that position and clearly we are in a very good position to find the very best. We have one of the finest convention centers in the country, construction on the Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel is well underway, we have an Arts District that is the envy of the world and so many other things on the horizon. It is a great time to be here. We are nothing but optimistic about the future of Dallas' hospitality and convention industry."