Pete Dunklee Named Vice President of Entertainment

[Zachary]

Heard it here first, folks: I've been told that Pete Dunklee has been named Busch Gardens Williamsburg's new Vice President of Entertainment.

I know a little about him but don't have time to post it now. Anyone else want to collect and share some professional background on him?

(For what it's worth, Pete Dunklee was my first pick for the position and I'm ecstatic to see him get the job.)

 

[Zimmy]

lets hope he does not have a penchant for mylar and confetti.

 

[BGWfan]

He used to direct Theatrical Services (sets, lights, sounds, etc). He's not a "creative" type. I imagine things will be managed very differently under him.

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

That's promising. I think that the job of the VP of Entertainment should be primarily to manage the department, not to make all the creative decisions. Scott seemed to want to autocratically control every aspect of the department, rather than delegating what needed to be done. The park has people like Phil Raybourn to do creative works, and I think that the new offerings recently, such as Cornered and Lumberhack at HOS, and the Bier Fest show just how suppressed the real creative minds have been under Scott. Now, they seem to finally be blossoming. I hope that Pete will do the right thing to properly manage, not control the Entertainment Department.

 

[greengiant]

Great choice, he has been on property for a long time and came up from the entry level.

 

[Lord Robert]

Pete Dunklee has been working as a show technician since the 1980's so he does have strong knowledge and experience of Busch Gardens' past and if All For One was any indication, we're in for something interesting for the next few years under him.

 

[CastleOSullivan]

I like his ambition, along with his more "conservative" overlook on what fits BGW. I just think it's a shame that the same theatrical services that he was previously in charge of have taken a drastic downturn. Before last year, I don't think I have ever heard a microphone fade out for any significant amount of time, consistently in several shows.

 

[Lord Robert]

I did meet him once while walking around the park, he seems to be a really nice, smart man so I have a good amount of faith that he will do good things as vice president. I'm just glad he isn't Scott, thank goodness!