[6/25/04]Despite a change to night meetings, the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau board was unable to conduct business Thursday because too few of its members attended.

Five of the 11 volunteer appointees were present at the scheduled meeting of the tourism development agency, but not enough to constitute a legal quorum, which requires at least six.

Those who did attend heard reports from the Vicksburg Convention Center and VCVB employees without taking any action.

Executive director Emy Bullard Wilkinson said she may have to call a special meeting before the next regular one to tend to some matters that were on Thursday’s agenda.

The board changed its meeting time in February after several sessions at which there were barely enough members to conduct business. The meetings had been at 8 a.m, but were moved to 5:30 p.m. in hopes of drawing more participation.

The change had worked until Thursday. Wilkinson said she had been contacted earlier in the day by those members who were unable to attend, including board chairman Eric Biedenharn, who is out of town on vacation.

Other members who did not attend Thursday’s meeting were Cheryl Comans, Patti Cappaert, Jessica Hayes Williams and Bobby Bailess. One position on the board is vacant.

The bylaws that govern the VCVB say a member may be removed from the board for missing three consecutive meetings. During the past year, no member has missed more than two consecutive meetings.

The board, among the first of its type created in Mississippi, is composed of people appointed by city and county governments and is funded by a 1 percent tax added to the price of restaurant meals, bar tabs and rooms rented by the night. The tax raises up to $1 million per year, most of which is spent on regional advertising, brochures and salaries.