Look closely at the Knoxville Visitor Center and you can still see holes in the masonry and remnants of glue on the brick. That's all that remains of the "Gloria Ray Building" sign that was drilled into wall along Gay Street.
Gloria Ray was the head of the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation housed inside the building. She resigned in 2012 after a WBIR 10News investigation revealed KTSC's wasteful spending, poor oversight, and Ray's exorbitant annual salary of around $400,000.
The controversy effectively ended the contracts with KTSC. The organization that had bilked taxpayers in the name of promoting Knoxville was itself an embarrassment.
The death of KTSC opened the door for its employees to push for the reformation of a new organization with the new name "Visit Knoxville." The group officially went to work Nov. 1, 2012.
Five years since the birth of Visit Knoxville, the signs of controversy have been replaced with signs of successful promotion of the region.
"We're just celebrating how far we've come in the last five years," said Kim Bumpas, president of Visit Knoxville. "We had to go through a lot of processes and we reformatted the whole board of directors."
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett was one of the leading critics during the 2012 controversy that led to Gloria Ray's resignation and the end of KTSC. In February 2012, Burchett told WBIR, "The smoke and mirrors game is over. The public's not buying it. I don't buy it. We need to get to the bottom of it."
Five years later, Burchett now says Visit Knoxville has shut the book on the past controversies by making the operation an open book to the public.
"I think Visit Knoxville has done a great job. Kim Bumpas and her staff, they keep us informed of what's going on. They are investing more money into the community instead of into themselves. And they're doing a very good job of promoting our community," said Burchett.
Bumpas said she believes Visit Knoxville has proven its worth by delivering a return on the tax dollars it receives.
"We've had double-digit growth in hotel and motel tax revenue for three years in a row. We've worked really hard to tell the story of Knoxville and get the attention of travel magazines that tell the world about how we are truly a destination. You can come to town, stay in a hotel, have so much to do with all the restaurants, theaters, sports, and the outdoor stuff at the Urban Wilderness. We've formed the sports commission and the film office. We've booked big events like USA Cycling and Bassmaster. Things that have never been in Knoxville have started to recognize us. We are on the map as a getaway destination, and that's huge," said Bumpas.
With no more signs of controversy, Bumpas said she's even more optimistic about the future.
"We're really just now getting our momentum. So, the next five years will be even more amazing than the first five years," she said.
While Nov. 1 is the actual anniversary of Visit Knoxville, the group is holding its five-year celebration on Friday, Nov. 3, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Knoxville Visitor Center.
