Apple phones hate their users.
Kevin Lembke Leaving Busch Gardens
- Thread starter Findley
- Start date
Apple phones hate their users.
I'll wait until something official is announced. If it is true then I'll be a little sad, for I actually really like what Kevin's been doing for the park.
As I understand it the cap ex money was a big push from the guy who will know be the Chairman of the Board. I don't think it'll be going away anytime soon.
Also some of these decisions are decisions that are made above his pay grade. The park president can advocate for spending on a certain project but the final approval would still be coming from corporate. It's likely that the park proposes a project they want to do and then it gets approved. Also sometimes the park is told what they need to spend it on. There's really no way of knowing how much influence Kevin had over the decisions regarding 2020 and 2021 or how much the incoming park president would be able to change.
@BGWnut yeah... I figured since we're not privy to their exact structure regarding corporate vs local decisions and financial management surrounding them, all we have are our best guesses.
So therefore, I hope by Kevin on the way out doesn't change the park's momentum in a way that is less beneficial to the average guest or the employees.
So therefore, I hope by Kevin on the way out doesn't change the park's momentum in a way that is less beneficial to the average guest or the employees.
In my former industry, the local GM (the head guy) was in charge of day-to-day operations, insuring the property was run in accordance to Corporate specifications and provide input on how various programs/events were received. Our GM was limited to $X on a single expenditure; anything above had to have Corp. approval. I'm fairly certain the BGW President operates with similar constraints.
He certainly. That's why it's tough to say how much influence he had. Speaking of experience at BGW capex projects are typically either proposed by the park for approval to corporate or corporate dictates to the park what it's to be used for.
I think in the long view of things a lot of what we're seeing long term was a John Reilly influence. Local boy, who knew the market and the park. As most know, things like coasters are planned years in advance. I'm sure sitting on a hard drive somewhere is a master growth plan that gets amended as market changes warrant. And, I'll assume, it had Reilly's fingerprints all over it. Other than minor operations changes and adjustments, I doubt Kevin will leave much of a legacy as did David (before him) with his excellent employee relations.
Last edited:
Only if he brings Skott back to run entertainment.
Project 2020: Lembke for actual president.
I'd vote for the guy.
note in reality I would not commit to voting for anyone prior to seeing their platform.
bonus note I do know that Kevin wouldn't be the worst candidate... But I also know that Vermin Love Supreme is running again... So that's not saying much. Sorry Vermin fans.
I'd vote for the guy.
note in reality I would not commit to voting for anyone prior to seeing their platform.
bonus note I do know that Kevin wouldn't be the worst candidate... But I also know that Vermin Love Supreme is running again... So that's not saying much. Sorry Vermin fans.
Last edited:
Any chance Suzy Cheely gets the nod as replacement for Kevin? Thoughts @BGWnut ?
I, for one, think it's a natural fit. She's already been working closely with Kevin on the new attractions. Has a track record of speaking with county officials, and seems to be doing a fine job.
I, for one, think it's a natural fit. She's already been working closely with Kevin on the new attractions. Has a track record of speaking with county officials, and seems to be doing a fine job.
Last edited:
I think both of them are too new in their current roles. If I recall correctly SEAS expects a park president to have been a VP(now senior leader) for at least 5 years before becoming a park president. I'm not sure who at BGW besides Franz Kitenko (Culinary VP) and Jeff Thomas (WCUSA VP) have been VPs for long enough. Personally I think of the people currently working in Williamsburg that Jeff is the most likely. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was someone from a different park though. Kevin had strong ties to BGW but he came back to BGW from Tampa. David Cromwell was here at WCUSA temporarily but was in San Diego when he was made Park president. Carl Lum was in Orlando working in the corporate office if I recall correctly. I can't remember if John Reilly was in Williamsburg when he was promoted or if he came back from a different park. But you might have to go all the way back to at least him (if not later) to find the last park president who was currently working in Williamsburg at the time of their promotion.
The past several park presidents all seem to come from a business background rather than a design or operations background. If this trend continues, I think this would rule out Suzy as well.
Kevin was from Merchandise (he was also a Culinary VP for a bit in Tampa if my memory is correct), David was from Park Operations, Carl was from Finance and John and Donnie Mills were from Culinary. I would say that most of those except Carl came from operations backgrounds.
I do agree that Suzy is probably not very likely because D&E does not really give you a lot of experience with the day to day operations of the theme park.
I shouldn’t have said operations, but each one of them was involved in the business management of the park from those positions. John and Donny, for example, weren’t cooking meals and picking ingredients; they were the ones making the dollars-and-cents decisions of their department.
Serious question, though. Does anyone have a rough estimate of what the park president salary is? I hope this doesn’t come off in bad taste, but I’m curious about what the position would be comparable to from a career standpoint.
Serious question, though. Does anyone have a rough estimate of what the park president salary is? I hope this doesn’t come off in bad taste, but I’m curious about what the position would be comparable to from a career standpoint.
Last edited:
According to pay scale 150k base plus potential 80k in cash incentives.
Basically equivalent to Senior Management in tech.
www.payscale.com
Basically equivalent to Senior Management in tech.
President Salary in 2024 | PayScale
The average salary for a President is $158,272 in 2024. Visit PayScale to research president salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more.
www.payscale.com