IDA refines candidate search

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Members of the Inter-District Authority Board have further defined their expectations and criteria for the future leader of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. 

During a workshop Aug. 27, IDA supervisors worked to defined short- and long-term goals for the successor of Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Executive Director Eva Rey, who will leave her post for a new job with The Viera Co., a subsidiary of A. Duda & Sons, in mid-October.

Rey and contractor Ron Hamilton, of Practical Human Resources Solutions, led the discussion.

“It’s important to pinpoint what you need from the get-go,” Hamilton said of finding a successful candidate. “What are the short- and long-term deliverables? This is setting the bar.”

Supervisors said they want Town Hall’s next leader to be involved in the community and be a confident, common-sense decision maker and strategic thinker always seeking to advance the mission of the community and organization, among other attributes (see sidebar). The executive also should place top priority on customer service and be a detail-oriented communicator.

In his or her first year, the new hire will oversee Town Hall’s conversion to a centralized purchasing process and guide the deployment of website-related projects. Town Hall’s new purchasing manager, Ana Owen, the former purchasing manager of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, starts Oct. 1 in her newly created position. 

Rey said she is confident the IDA board will find a candidate who matches all its criteria and will excel in the role.

“There’s a lot of buzz,” Rey said. “I feel without a doubt you will have someone who will do a good job.”

Rey said she hopes to have a group of candidates to IDA supervisors by mid-September and has tentatively set up interviews with finalists for Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.