VALDOSTA —  Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority named Tim Riddle as the only finalist for the position of executive director at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center on Wednesday.

Riddle has nearly 30 years of experience and is currently the executive director, convention and visitor’s bureau (CVB)  director for the Cave City Convention Center and Tourism Commission in Cave City, Ky.

However, Riddle has also experienced what Chairman Rob Evans of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Tourism Authority calls a “hiccup” in his career.

The issue was a purchasing violation found during an audit in the latter part of Riddle’s 24-year career with the Chattanooga Convention Center in Tennessee.

According to the Chattanooga Free Press, the audit report found five instances relating to the acquisition and disposal of vehicles which were not conducted according to policy.

Those purchases included a 2006 Dodge Ram, a 2008 Ford F-250 Truck, a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 2009 Hyundai Genesis.

All purchases in excess of $10,000 were supposed to be taken to the board for approval and be competitively bid.

Evans said, “He had approval from the Chair, Jimmy Hudson. It should have been board approved and it wasn’t.”

The Free Press wrote that a state audit of vehicles improperly acquired by Riddle says center Board Chairman Jimmy Hudson knew of the purchases but forgot that they were supposed to have been competitively bid and approved by the full board.

Between the period of 2005-2009, Riddle bought the Dodge Ram and traded it for a newer truck and also acquired two other vehicles. Two of the vehicles were titled in Riddle’s name instead of the name of the convention center, the audit report stated.

After board members in Chattanooga were made aware of these findings, the       firm was directed to conduct additional audit procedures to determine if there were any other instances where violations had been made in addition to the five. No additional violations were uncovered.

Riddle resigned from the Chattanooga Convention Center in January 2010.

According to Evans, the executive director search committee members were all aware of this incident in Riddle’s past. In fact, it was this incident that deterred him from progressing further after being named a top candidate a few years ago.

“Several years ago we had looked at some resumes and saw that and that was a concern at the time,” said Evans.

However, according to Evans, after extensively looking into the situation and other aspects of Riddle’s career, that was the only “hiccup” they could find.

“That was an anomaly in his career,” said Evans. “That audit found nothing else.”

Evans stated that the board spoke at length about this issue but felt that his experience outweighed the incident. In fact, despite this issue, Evans stated that there is no doubt about the success that Riddle brought to the convention center in Chattanooga.

“There is no doubt,” said Evans. “Our board is unanimous, our selection committee is unanimous.”

In Chattanooga, Riddle led a $50 million expansion in 2002 which doubled the exhibit space and added 18 meeting rooms. In his year and a half with the convention center in Kentucky, he has returned the center to a positive cash flow.

Riddle is active within his community and currently holds a position on the board of directors for the Cave City Chamber of Commerce. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and a certified Facilities Executive by the International Association of Venue Managers.

Evans said the Authority is currently in discussions with Riddle, and if all goes well, he will be offered the position, which has been vacant for nearly two years. Interim directors have been filling in until a permanent director could be found.