The St Joseph Metro Chamber continues its search for a new CEO.

Out of some 300 contacts, a search committee has come up with a short list of nine candidates who are being interviewed for the position.

Chamber officials hope to meet their deadline to replace Ted Allison, who resigned in December. In a news release, board chairman Vern Middleton struck a confident tone.

“We anticipate meeting the deadline we set for ourselves of having a new President/CEO in place by the end of the first quarter,” Mr. Middleton said.

OMNI Employment Management Services, LLC is assisting in the search process.

The Search Committee and OMNI recognized there are a significant number of capable individuals in the immediate area, as well as the states surrounding Missouri including Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. For that reason, the decision was made to focus the search locally and regionally. For prospective candidates outside the immediate area, the position was posted on the American

Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) website, which provides national exposure for the St. Joseph Metro Chamber.

This approach has generated approximately 300 contacts about the position. Based on the search criteria provided by the Search Committee, OMNI narrowed down the list of viable candidates to 30 and out of those candidates, nine were selected for further consideration. Interviews are being conducted with a number of the candidates. The Search Committee is continuing to evaluate candidates before making a recommendation to the Board of Directors.

“The Search Committee is very pleased with the quality of the candidates who have expressed interest and confident the Board of Directors and the general membership of the Chamber will be pleased with the outcome of the search process,” Mr. Middleton said.