Mayor Eric Johnson appointed District 9 City Councilwoman Paula Blackmon and former state Rep. Helen Giddings to the VisitDallas board Tuesday, according to a news release.
Giddings and Blackmon will serve two-year terms, which run through Nov. 30, 2021. They will replace Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano and City Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates, who served on the board under the previous administration.
The board for the convention and visitors bureau has 21 voting members.
“They will bring fresh eyes to VisitDallas as we work with its new leadership to make it more responsive and accountable to the City of Dallas,” Johnson said in a statement.
Blackmon has represented District 9 since June 2019. She previously served in leadership roles under Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles and Mayors Mike Rawlings and Tom Leppert. She also helped secure funding for Klyde Warren Park.
“I am excited about my appointment to the VisitDallas board and the confidence Mayor Johnson has entrusted in me,” Blackmon said in a statement. “There is still much work to be done to ensure contract compliance and transparency, and I look forward to working with VisitDallas and its new leadership to get this done.”
Giddings represented part of southern Dallas in the Texas House of Representatives from 1993-2019. She has served on many local boards, including the African American Museum, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Summer Musicals, Dallas Historical Society and the Dallas City Plan Commission.
