July is shaping up to be a busy time for the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas as the search for its next president continues.
During the RDA monthly board meeting Friday morning, Interim President Lyle Butler provided an update on the search process. According to Butler, the RDA’s search firm has recently received several applications for the position.
While speaking with Butler Friday, KVOE News asked if this was a surprising occurrence given the economic challenges the community has faced in recent months, namely the many business closures that have occurred since this past December, specifically Tyson. Butler responded, saying that most qualified candidates will see those trends not as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity for growth and improvement, which is one of the factors he believes the RDA is looking for in its next leader.
According to the current timeline, the RDA President Search Committee is set to review the list of applicants on July 9th. From there, members will narrow down the list of candidates and conduct Zoom interviews on July 17th before selecting their finalists, who will come to Emporia for in-person interviews the week of July 25.
According to Butler, the names and backgrounds of the candidates will be kept confidential so as not to cause any complications with their current employment. Butler says they are hopeful the committee will have a finalist selected by early August and that individual will be “flying solo” by mid-September.
Following this update, Butler took a moment to offer some advice to the RDA Board regarding the future success of the agency and community. He says Emporia is a unique place with a great deal of potential for many reasons, including the fact that it has both a technical college and a four-year university, something you don’t find everywhere.
With that in mind, Butler believes that if the community is to truly be successful, that success cannot be solely left up to the new President. He says it will be important for all local entities involved in economic development to work together collaboratively and cooperatively.
The selection of a new president will conclude a better than 18-month process that was put on hold for several months due to the requested reorganization of the board by the City of Emporia late last year. As KVOE News has reported, that situation was resolved early last month after the RDA member organizations took action to approve three new voting board members, adding Flint Hills Technical College, Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street to its ranks.
In other business Friday, the RDA received a financial report from Varney and Associates and a presentation from FHTC President Dr. Caron Daugherty regarding FHTC’s new strategic plan.
The RDA Board of Directors will next convene in July for its regular monthly meeting.
