The St. Ignace Visitors Bureau will be looking for a new director, since former director Lynne Piippo is no longer holding the position.

The office staff will "hold everything together," Bureau Board Vice President Mike North said Friday, August 14, until a new director is named.

Deb Durm, former office manager at the Visitors Bureau, has been named acting executive director in the interim, and said everything will be "business as usual" at the office. She also served in the same position for about two months in 2006, before Mrs. Piippo was hired.

The board and staff already have begun reviewing job expectations and plan to begin accepting applicants for the director position soon.

"We don't want to just put somebody in there," Mr. North said. "We want to make sure we put the right person in there."

Mrs. Piippo has served in the position for nearly three years, after leaving a marketing position with Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, where she worked for nine years.

"I enjoyed very much being director of the Visitors Bureau," Mrs. Piippo said. "It was a lot of fun."

Mrs. Piippo said she was happy with her time working at the office and hoped the next director will share her passion for the region and its people.

"I hope that it is somebody who cares about St. Ignace," she said.

The Visitors Bureau's goal is to market and promote St. Ignace to increase motel room revenue by making potential visitors aware of St. Ignace as a travel destination. Members include motel owners and other businesses in St. Ignace. The organization is funded by a 2% motel room tax.