Emporians gathered at White Auditorium’s Little Theater on Friday to give their well wishes to outgoing City Manager Mark McAnarney and City Commissioner Jon Geitz.
McAnarney, who served as city manager for seven years and was in city administration for over 30 years, built his career on developing relationships and he says that paid off through new ventures for the city.
Geitz was a city commissioner for two terms. He says city government took several steps during his tenure that will help planning down the road.
Both departures are contributing to a wave of new leadership in Emporia. Trey Cocking is now serving as Emporia’s city manager, while Jamie Sauder has replaced Geitz on City Commission. Over the last year, Allison Anderson-Harder was named superintendent at USD 253 Emporia and Caron Daugherty replaced Dean Hollenbeck as president at Flint Hills Technical College. Next year, Chuck Scott will become president of the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas, replacing longtime leader Kent Heermann. Also, Emporia State University will have a new president after the departure of Allison Garrett and the search will begin for a new fire chief with the upcoming retirement of Jack Taylor. McAnarney says there is a lot of potential for an exciting new direction for Emporia, while Geitz says it’s important for the new leaders to work together well so that potential can be reached.
