George Robertson, president of Kosciusko Economic Development Corp., will retire at the end of 2018, and a search is underway for his replacement.
No official announcement has been made, but officials posted the job opening on Indeed and on KEDCo’s website.
KEDCo board secretary Josh Gordon said he wasn’t sure how long the board would take to hire a successor, “but there will be some overlap so if needed there’s a chance to become acclimated to the community, and become familiar with the economic climate in the county.
“Whomever we have a chance to select, we want to make sure that candidate has a passion for economic development like George has had with us for the almost 10 years.
“We’ll have one economic development professional working alongside another to either learn the community, if they’re new to the area, or really learn who the players are in economic development circles not only in the county, but the region.
“There’s a lot of economic development pieces that the incoming president will need to meet and get to know.”
Gordon named more than a dozen businesses “just off the top of my head,” that Robertson played a role in either attracting to the area or helping to fulfill expansion plans.
“He’s leaving behind a great legacy with the community and the county,” Gordon said. “He’s worked diligently for us for almost 10 years as the first full-time economic director for KEDCo. “He’s traveled around to all the towns, engaging local communities in their economic development.”
“On the private side, he’s built a board of about 30 members, and there’s an additional four committees with 50 volunteers. He’s really helped us grow our network of volunteers that are involved with economic development across the entire county,” he said.
“So he’s leaving big shoes to fill.”
Gordon said because of the way Robertson has operated KEDCo so efficiently, it can afford to have two people in similar positions on the payroll for a short time and make the transition as seamless as possible.
“George has built this network of professionals, and we don’t want to lose that with his retirement. We’re spending more money to make sure we do this thing right and keep the momentum we have.”
by Mark Howe, Times-Union Staff Writer
