New tourism director steps in

April 02, 2008 04:36 pm

— By Monica Green
features@trcle.com

Blank walls greeted the new Cleburne Chamber of Commerce tourism director Monday at his first day on the job.
The walls will not remain blank for long, Carl Watson said. His photographer wife of 22 years, Linda, will soon hang black and white Texas photographs, he said.
Watson comes to the Cleburne chamber from South Florida, where he served as executive director of the Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.
“My background has been quite a bit in the hospitality industry for the past 35 years,” Watson said.
In his 35 years of experience, Watson has worked in different parts of the tourism industry, such as hotels and chambers of commerce. He has worked for chambers the last 11 years.
“My brother and I even had a scuba diving resort in the Bahamas,” he said.
The decision to move here was made easily, he said. Cleburne is closer to family, he said.
“This has actually worked out kind of well,” Watson said. “My wife grew up in El Paso and loves this part of the state. It is a growing area, economically sound and centrally located, so it’s ideal for what we’re trying to do.”
The couple has three children and four grandchildren.
“I am excited about the opportunity to come work with the hospitality industry in this area,” he said. “My job is to put heads in the beds. I’m excited to work with the progressive chamber here and increase visibility of the city.”
The staff at the chamber is excited about Watson’s arrival.
“I think Carl is going to be a great asset to our community,” said chamber President Cathy Marchel. “He has a wealth of knowledge in the tourism and chamber industry that will bring some fresh ideas for enhancing tourism in Cleburne.”
Chairman of the board Brad Evans said the board is excited to have Watson join the staff.
“Carl brings many years experience in the tourism-related field and will hit the ground running when he gets here,” Evans said before Watson’s arrival. “One of the most common remarks made about Carl when we called his references was that he is an idea person.
“That’s just what we have been looking for as we went through the interview process.”
Watson replaces the chamber’s first tourism director, Sarah O’Brien, who returned to Nacogdoches in September after a 13 month stay in Cleburne.