The Clearwater chamber president will focus on bringing high-wage jobs to Pinellas.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published June 25, 2004
CLEARWATER - The search was over before it began.
On Thursday, the county named Mike Meidel as its new director of economic development. Meidel, president and chief executive of the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce, succeeds Richard "Buzz" David, who announced his resignation three weeks ago.
David is leaving to become executive director of the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. in Texas. His last day is July 16.
County officials interviewed only one candidate for the job: Meidel. They asked him to apply for the position.
"We opted not to go through an open recruitment process," said Mark Woodard, assistant county administrator. "We felt that the position was for someone who knew the local business climate and knew the community. We felt that Mike was such an outstanding fit."
Meidel starts Aug. 2 with an annual salary of $115,500. Suzanne Christman, a senior business development specialist with the county, will serve as the interim director.
He will oversee 46 employees, the same number as David.
As president of the chamber for five years, overseeing a budget of $1.5-million, Meidel said he worked to improve communication with its 1,600 members through e-mail newsletters and weekly faxes. He focused on attracting and retaining new businesses and recruiting more volunteers. He oversaw 25 employees, 10 of them part time.
In his new position, Meidel plans to work on creating jobs and developing better relationships between cities and the county.
"I think the biggest challenge is getting everyone working together - Dunedin, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, unincorporated Pinellas County," he said. "I think we'll be much more effective if we do that."
Meidel replaced Kathy Rabon as chamber president in 1999 when she resigned to become executive director of the performing arts center foundation at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Prior to that, he worked for 12 years in the Florida Power Corp. Economic Development Department, now Progress Energy.
He is a graduate of Florida State University.
"He has a great reputation and vast experiences that I think will be very beneficial for our economic development efforts," said Commissioner Susan Latvala. "I think what we need to focus on is making sure we're bringing new high-wage jobs. That's going to be his greatest challenge."
David joined the county's economic development team in 1999 and earns $122,848. He did not return calls for comment.
County commissioners on Thursday said they were sad to see him leave.
"He had a good temperament, a good demeanor, very articulate, very thorough," said Commissioner Calvin Harris. "People trusted him. It really helped us in our dealings with the business community."
The chamber will launch a national search to find a new president with the hopes of hiring someone before January. Katie Cole, vice president of governmental affairs and economic development, will serve in the interim. Cole is not interested in filling the position permanently.
"I believe that the board of directors has consistently selected outstanding people to be president of the chamber," said Clearwater City Manager Bill Horne. "They'll select someone else who will be equally successful. I don't have any doubts about that."
