The 11th seat on the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau board has been filled, and the appointee said his tie-breaking vote may get the agency oriented to its mission.

Tim Darden, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express at 4330 S. Frontage Road and president of the local Hotel & Lodging Association, accepted the appointment by the City of Vicksburg on Monday.

Darden replaces former chairman Curt Follmer, senior vice president and general manager of Rainbow Casino, on the city-county board.

Follmer resigned two months ago, saying Mayor Laurence Leyens was attempting to apply political pressure to the independent agency created by the Legislature in 1970.

Darden said he is not looking to &#8220stir the pot.” Rather, he hopes to bring some direction to the group which collapsed in a parliamentary stalemate over the selection of a new executive director.

The position has been open since April and Leyens favored contracting Compass Facilities Management, which operates the Vicksburg Convention Center and Vicksburg Auditorium, to perform the VCVB tourism-development mission.

The mayor said he had talked with Follmer about the idea, but disputed whether he had given anyone an order about how to vote.

The VCVB’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 15. Five board members are appointed by the Warren County Board of Supervisors and five by the City of Vicksburg. One seat alternates. The agency is funded by a 1 percent sales tax added to bills for restaurant meals, bar bills and motel stays and also receives grants. In turn, the revenue, up to $1 million per year, is spent operating two visitor centers, designing, printing and mailing brochures, promoting special events and advertising.

Leyens endorsed the selection of Darden because, he said, the VCVB has needed more representatives of the industry it supports.

&#8220He’s the president of the hotel association and we felt the hotels should be represented,” Leyens said. He also said Darden came forward as a community leader during the Hurricane Katrina crisis.

Darden, who moved to Vicksburg in 2004 from New Orleans, said he thinks his experiences with the local hotel association and his experience as a hotel manager in New Orleans will be assets to him on the board.

&#8220I look very highly to the opportunity,” he said. &#8220I’ve already been in contact with a couple of the board members. I look forward to working with the board members and hopefully we can progress the VCVB. My focus is to bring some unity to the VCVB board and hopefully get past all this and get to bigger and better business.”

Amid the discord, Compass withdrew any interest in accepting the management of VCVB. The board normally does not meet in November, meaning there has been no scheduled session since the last gathering ended with with some members walking out.