Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Carolann Wooten will take over as Haines Borough tourism director this month, hoping to use tourism as a “bridge builder” between differing interests in the community.

“I’m going into this open minded,” Wooten said. “It’s a perspective I bring from outside, the hope that anything is possible.”

Wooten doesn’t have experience in the tourism industry. She said that years of working in public relations for two nonprofits has prepared her for this position. She now works as an accounting clerk at Southeast Roadbuilders and serves on the borough’s Code Review Commission.

“I’m a believer in tourism,” Wooten said. She grew up in her grandparents’ bed and breakfast in the small rural town of Shrewsbury, Vt. and enjoyed developing connections with guests who would return every year.

She said although tourism is a growing and vibrant sector in Haines, she wants the community to stay small and quaint. “We want (tourists) to contribute to the economy, but we don’t want them to stay,” Wooten said.

Wooten moved to Mosquito Lake about a year ago from Bakersfield, Calif. with her husband John and two horses. The couple have owned property here since the 1990s.

Wooten said one of her goals is to discover Haines’ niche.

“What is our niche? How do we use it as a tool to draw people here? I’m willing to find out,” she said.

She also hopes to bring locals together with education and prove how tourism can benefit every industry.

Wooten was one of four who interviewed for the tourism director position left vacant last month by Leslie Ross. Ross worked three years at the job.

Other applicants included Haines residents Tammy Piper and Madeline Witek, and Kelly Gray of Pennsylvania.

Candidates were interviewed by a panel including Tresham Gregg, Leslie Ross, Jeff Butcher, Carol Tuynman, Alison Jacobson and Debra Schnabel.

Wooten’s first day on the job will be July 24. Her starting pay is $23.23 per hour.