Jun. 12, 2003 - After more than a year of searching for a new executive director for San Antonio's Convention & Visitors Bureau, the city has tapped the head of the tourism effort in Charlotte, N.C., for the job, according to a memo to Charlotte City Council members. 

Texas native Melvin Tennant is expected to replace 14-year director Steve Moore, who left early last year. 

Tennant has been president and CEO of Visit Charlotte for 11 years. He also has worked in Oakland, Calif., and Corpus Christi. 

San Antonio city officials could not be reached to confirm the appointment. 

But Tennant wrote a letter to Charlotte City Council members and the board of directors of Visit Charlotte saying he is accepting the executive director job in San Antonio and will start in mid-July. 

City of Charlotte officials confirmed that they had received Tennant's letter. 

An announcement is expected today. 

Tennant, who is from Bryan and a graduate of Rice University, expressed in his letter that he wanted to be closer to his family in Texas. 

Dale Lockett has been the San Antonio agency's acting executive director since March 2002 and was a candidate for the job. 

It is not known how much the job pays, but Moore made about $130,000 in his last year at the bureau. 

The tourism industry in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is estimated at about $2.4 billion a year. San Antonio's tourism business generates about $4 billion in direct spending each year. 

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(c) 2003, San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.