The CFTOD Fires Two Senior Leaders and Two Others Just Days Before Thanksgiving
Just days before Thanksgiving, the Ron DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) has fired two senior staffers and two other employees.
The district dismissed their director of communications, Eryka Washington Perry, and chief of human resources, Jason Middleton, along with an administrative assistant and a facilities maintenance specialist according to an internal email.
The latest departures continue a disturbing trend for the CFTOD, which has seen over 10% of its employees exit since the state took over.
Gilzean Says The Firings Were “Isolated”
While district officials declined to comment on the latest departures, administrator Glen Gilzean addressed the employee “separations” in an internal email.
“These separations were isolated and specific and are not representative of our team members who show up every day with excellence and a clear vision of a stronger tomorrow for our taxpayers and visitors,” Gilzean wrote in the memo.
Both Senior Leaders Began Under Reedy Creek
Both Midddleton and Washington Perry were hired by the district when it was controlled by Disney and named Reedy Creek.
Middleton had previously served as chief of staff to former Reedy Creek administrator John Classe.
When Gilzean replaced Classe at the behest of DeSantis, Middleton moved to chief of human resources. Gilzean then brought in Paul Hoisington to serve as his chief of staff. She has subsequently been promoted to deputy district administrator.
Washington Perry, meanwhile, is a former investigative reporter at WKMG-Chanel 6. She joined the district on October 16 and has been the CFTOD’s lead media spokesperson.
Recently, the district’s statements to reporters have been written by Athos. The public relations firm offers, “strategic, high-stakes communications experience in the private sector. And at the highest levels of the federal government.”
District officials have also referred reporters to Matthew Thomas Oberly, their new head of external affairs.
A Bad Look For the CFTOD
Whatever the reason for the latest departures, the loss of four key employees just before Thanksgiving is a bad look for a district that has lost 40 of its 370 employees. In exit surveys, departing employees have said the “workplace culture has been destroyed”.
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will bring you all the news from the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
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