STARKVILLE — Sources familiar with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership’s search for a new chief executive officer say the organization is likely to hire an external firm to seek additional applicants after three finalists were identified but not hired this spring.
Numerous members of the GSDP Board of Trustees declined to comment on the record about the status of the search, and board Chairman Michelle Amos did not reply to specific questions about the search.
Instead, Amos issued a statement calling the search “ongoing” and said the board is “committed to recruiting the best possible candidate” and “is actively moving ahead with the process.”
Those close to the process, however, said on background interim CEO Heath Barrett and two other external candidates made the shortlist for the position, but the two external candidates pulled out of the running for unknown reasons.
When contacted, Barrett would not confirm his candidacy with The Dispatch and deferred questions about the search to Amos.
As of Friday, it was unclear if the board has formally hired a search firm, how much such a move is estimated to cost and from where the funding for such a task would come.
The timeline for hiring a new CEO is also unknown, but in her statement Amos said trustees “look forward to naming a successor in the near future.”
Trustees are expected to meet again Tuesday.
The Partnership board first set a Dec. 31 application deadline for former CEO Jennifer Gregory’s position but adjusted its timeline to remain open until the position is filled.
Amos told The Dispatch in March she was hopeful the Partnership board would announce a hire at the end of the month.
Barrett was tapped as the GSDP’s interim CEO shortly after Gregory resigned her position in October.
Barrett and Jennifer Prather, the Partnership’s special events coordinator, are managing all of the entity’s functions, including next week’s Starkville Restaurant Week, short staffed.
Besides Gregory, business manager Shelby Stevenson also quit her Partnership post last year.
Barrett said the Partnership is expected to bring on a temporary worker ahead of Starkville Restaurant Week.
Since last year’s personnel shake-ups, Partnership trustees created a new tourism director’s position, which will likely be filled by the incoming CEO once a hire is made.
The vacancy has allowed trustees to analyze the CEO’s role before making a new hire, and sources close to the search said they’re looking for candidates who have an active fundraising background and can monitor local- and state-level legislative processes.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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