Twitty, Tarwater sign on to new gigs

Last edited 3:10 p.m., June 17, 2011

Two notable executives in Springfield are writing new chapters of their careers.

John Twitty, whose last day as general manager of City Utilities was June 10, has been selected as the first executive director of the Transmission Access Policy Study Group, a Madison, Wis.-based electric utility and transmission advocacy organization that has member utilities in 33 states, including CU.

Also last week, former John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts executive Scott Tarwater joined O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC as chief development officer.

Twitty, who will take the part-time position July 1, plans to stay in Springfield, according to CU spokesman Joel Alexander.

"I've been associated with the folks at TAPS for many years and have worked on similar efforts with them, so when I had the opportunity to become more formally associated with them, I jumped at the chance," Twitty said via e-mail.

CU held a public reception last week for Twitty, who joined the company in 1991 and was named general manager in 2002.

“John Twitty, through his long history of service to the utility industry as a leader and advocate for fairness and improvement in the transmission process, was a logical choice to help us manage TAPS to a new level,” said Thomas Heller, chairman of the TAPS board of directors, in a news release. “He’s the right person to lead this group at the right time.”

Scott Miller, CU associate general manager of electric supply, who was promoted to general manager in May, will succeed Twitty beginning June 11.

Tarwater, the former executive vice president of development for JQH Hotels, left the company in October amid a company shakedown in which founder John Q. Hammons was hospitalized and Jacquie Dowdy was named company CEO.

For JQH Hotels, Tarwater managed the strategic direction of the company’s public and private hotel, resort and convention center developments. Since joining JQH Hotels in 2000, he also served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the company and as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Windsor Hospitality Group.

“I am thrilled to be joining the very talented O’Reilly Hospitality Management family, and I am looking forward to leveraging our many assets for new public and private hotel developments, acquisitions and third party management opportunities,” Tarwater said in a news release.

O’Reily Hospitality Management in March opened a $9.8 million, 140,000-square-foot Hilton Garden Inn at The Shoppes at James River, the site where it opened a Houlihan’s restaurant in September. The company also manages another Houlihan’s on North Glenstone Avenue and owns the Springfield Doubletree Hotel, Baymont Inn & Suites in Branson, Holiday Inn in Tulsa, Okla., and Yellowstone Valley Lodge in Livingston, Mont.

“We are very pleased and excited to welcome Scott to our team,” O’Reilly Hospitality CEO Tim O’Reilly said in the release. “His experience and knowledge in the hotel industry, combined with his solid judgment and business instincts, will be fantastic assets to our company as it continues to grow.”

At JQH Hotels, Tarwater was offered a severance package – which came paired with a noncompete clause – but declined, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

“Scott approached Jacquie Dowdy and (Human Resources Vice President) Kent Foster and indicated he had some other interests he wanted to pursue,” Justin Harris, JQH general counsel, said at the time. “He said that he recognized hotel development industrywide and within our company was slow. He asked whether he could be released to pursue other interests.”[[In-content Ad]]