WEDCOR gets new director, changes name
By ROBERT BRYAN
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 11:19 PM EDT
WEDCOR is no more. Long live the Economic Development Group of Wabash County!
The economic development organization has that new name and a new president and CEO. Soon it will have a new board, a smaller group with ability to move more quickly.
Also promised is a new attitude, a more aggressive approach in the very competitive world of attracting and keeping business.
The new president and CEO, William S. Konyha, was introduced to the public Wednesday afternoon, June 28, at a press conference at EDGWC headquarters in Wabash City Hall. Gathered for the pep-rally salute to the new start were two dozen of the city and county's civic and economic leaders. Many of them had had a voice in hiring.
Konyha has more than a decade of economic development experience and is currently serving as executive director of The Economic Development Group in Connersville. Prior to that, he spent eight years in the same position in Tipton. He's a native of Cleveland.
At the press conference, officials stressed that the new name and CEO coincide with a new approach, with a smaller, more efficient board to guide it. The board is to be reduced from 29 to nine.
All of the above are the result of a determination of the organization to undergo an aggressive reinventing of itself. That was the result of a public-input meeting here last September.
Konyha's compensation, salary and benefits, amount to $135,000, organization officials said. He will begin work here in August. He and his wife, Carole, have four children and six grandchildren.
EDGWC board chair Rob Pearson, Wabash County REMC CEO, said, “We are extremely pleased and fortunate to have Bill Konyha as our new president. Following a meeting of business and community leaders late last year, we identified three major goals that would drive our strategic initiatives.... Each of these goals has now been achieved. Bill is the final piece to the puzzle that will bring it all together.”
Konyha replaces Chris Martin, who resigned last July.
At the Q&A session after Pearson's presentation of Konyha and before the photos, Konyha was asked why, with his credentials, he chose Wabash.
He said he is among those who believe Wabash, with its access to major highways and central location in the north part of the state, is strategically placed to grow.
And for that growth, he said, it has a strong base - good schools, the colleges in Manchester and Wabash, excellent healthcare, an enviable quality of life and amenities normally reserved for the big cities.
“No one outworks me,” promised Konyha. “I will never lose a deal because I left something undone.”
In the Q&A, Mayor Bob Vanlandingham noted the Catch 22 often facing cities such as Wabash in naming an economic development director: To sell the community, you must have a passion for the community; but often to get someone with the qualifications needed, the community has to look outside its boarders, as in this case.
Vanlandingham then assured Konyha he needn't worry about the passion: The community, with the help of those present, will sell itself to him in short order.
Since interviewing here, Konyha confessed he'd already made significant progress in that line: Told by others Wabash is a diamond in the rough, he said he's already ready to accept it as “a gem.”
Pearson noted that Konyha's long and successful experience gives him economic development contacts all over the state, plus a significant number around the country and overseas. He was, for instance, with the governor on a recent economic trip to Japan.
Tapping those and other contacts is part and parcel of the new look developers hope to give the organization. There will be a more aggressive attitude in going after business and helping local business grow. There will be less reliance on brochures and waiting for the phone to ring.
Part and parcel with this new attitude is the shrinkage of the board. While ultimately the organization hopes to enlarge membership, the new nine-member board is expected to be able to act more quickly and decisively.
Three of the members are to be appointed by Wabash City, Wabash County and North Manchester. The others will be elected from the membership base.
Konyha comes to this job with a list of accomplishments. While in Connersville, he led the effort to retain Stant Manufacturing, the third largest employer in the city. In doing so, the city retained 295 jobs with payroll in excess of $13 million.
He was also instrumental in securing nearly $1.5 million in grants, led the efforts to attract Motion Industries, and shifted the focus from strictly industrial development - adding healthcare, logistics, agribusiness and service sector efforts.
As the executive director of the Tipton County Economic Development Corp., Konyha completed 11 business attraction projects that resulted in $41 million in capital investment and created 385 jobs. As well, he completed nine expansion projects resulting in $12 million of capital investments and 96 jobs.
Konyha spoke of his priorities: “I look forward to settling in and getting to know the community. I plan to meet with business, government and other leaders and have them tell me what they believe are the strengths (of the community).
Jeff Buckley, Wabash County Hospital CEO, headed the search committee for Martin's replacement and said the group got resumes from all over the country. Konyha's name, he said, kept bobbing to the top.
“I think he's going to be a tremendous asset,” said Buckley.
A committee is at work looking at ways of expanding membership and participation in the newly named Economic Development Group of Wabash County.
Said Kim Pinkerton, executive director of the Wabash County Chamber of Commerce, said, “The membership investment will help to build the public-private partnership for the financial success of our economic development efforts.
“Businesses and individuals who want a voice in Wabash County's economic development can invest not only monetarily, but also by voting for the board of directors who will guide the organization forward.”
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