The Creative Coast rang in 2013 with a flurry of activity. With Executive Director Jake Hodesh resigning to return to his hometown of Cincinnati, outgoing board chairman Susan Isaacs wasted no time kicking off the search for his replacement.
The call went out far and wide in early January via a number of local and national job boards, as well as through various public relations efforts. Isaacs, along with other members of the search committee, set up a simple but effective system to vet the resumes as they came in.
“We set up the system just in case,” explained Isaacs. “We really had no way to gauge what kind of response we would get.”
That response stunned everyone involved and, even with the system, it took many hours to process every qualified candidate. By the end of January, resumes were coming in at a rate of more than 20 per day, and by the time the dust settled, there were close to 300 applicants.
Candidates applied from across the country and as far away as Europe. The cover letters expressed interest in The Creative Coast (of course), but a surprising number went out of their way to express a longstanding interest in relocating to Savannah.
“It was inspiring to see so many smart, savvy people from places like New York City, Los Angeles and Boston all wanting to come live here,” Isaacs said. “Those cover letters were a nice reminder of how special Savannah really is.”
Just over 20 percent of the candidates came from Savannah or the surrounding area. The fact that this many local resumes also made the cut speaks to the homegrown talent we have cultivated here, much of it due to the influence of The Creative Coast itself.
The selection committee reviewed every candidate who met the minimum requirements, before narrowing the search down to eight individuals who were scheduled for phone interviews. From there the number dropped to three finalists who were invited for an on-site evaluation by the entire board of directors along with representatives from SEDA and the city of Savannah.
Each candidate was asked to assemble a detailed presentation, which covered a wide variety of topics, from economic development to fundraising to leadership. They spoke of their own experiences as entrepreneurs and of their community involvement. Each presentation was followed with questions from the various stakeholders.
“It has been a long and grueling process,” Isaacs said, “but we are coming down the home stretch.”
All board members and stakeholders have submitted their input to the search committee, which is now responsible for making a final recommendation to the board. The new executive director of The Creative Coast will be announced this month.
With all this interest from around the country, Savannah has had its choice of top talent. It’s a strong testament to the economic development work done so far and of Savannah’s enduring charm and singularity. I, for one, am excited to see what this next chapter brings to our fair city.
Blake Ellis was born in Valdosta but is a long time resident of Savannah. He is a local entrepreneur, CEO and founding partner at CommerceV3, father of two, and recent addition to The Creative Coast board. Blake can be reached at blake@commercev3.com.
