2 Miss America Execs Fired

John Kincade, vice president of marketing, and Libbi Taylor, vice president of operations, were dismissed last week in a cost-cutting move, interim CEO George Bauer said Monday. Taylor, a former executive director of the Miss Kentucky Scholarship Pageant, had just been hired in January. Kincade was hired in July 2000. Both were hired by former CEO Robert M. Renneisen, Jr.

Taylor declined comment when reached at home late Monday. Kincade couldn't be reached. His home telephone number is unlisted.

"I don't think it's a secret that we had to examine our operating expenses," Bauer said.

He said he did not foresee more firings, but that more cost cutting was expected. "I'm always looking for other ways to tighten the belt," Bauer said.

Renneisen, a former casino executive, resigned abruptly last week amid growing disenchantment with the way he was running the world's most famous beauty pageant.

On Feb. 4, directors of the state pageants flew to Atlantic City to complain to the Miss America Organization's board of directors about unreturned telephone calls and e-mails, lost sponsorship opportunities and other matters.

Among their complaints: burgeoning expenses under Renneisen, who added several people to the payroll. According to the Miss America Organization's tax returns, executive expenses rose from $243,000 the year before he took over to $406,000 in his first year at the helm.

The focus on expenses intensified after Renneisen announced last December that he was considering moving the Miss America Pageant to another state because of the increasing costs of staging it at Boardwalk Hall.

The pageant, which already gets $678,000 in state aid annually, asked the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority for an additional $1 million.

The state balked, and a task force was appointed to examine ways to help ease Miss America's fiscal crunch.

Prior to Renneisen's departure, at the first meeting of the 20-member Miss America Task Force, panel members asked the Miss America Organization to release the pageant's financial statements to the board but were rebuffed.

"However, I think things have changed since then," said Mark Juliano, a spokesman for the Task Force. "At this point, it may not be necessary. If they're going to take care of this on their own, we might not have to."

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC-AP