Ferdinand chooses new town manager

WITZ / WQKZ’s Chris James has been offered and has accepted the position of Town Manager for Ferdinand beginning January 6th.

James was one of 14 applicants for the position, which was opened up after then manager, Marc Steczyk, resigned to take a position in marketing with Kimball International.

Of the 14 applications received, Town Council President Ken Sicard said that they interviewed nine and eventually whittled it down to three, of which James was one.

He says that they were initially surprised by the application of James.  He is confident in James’ background in sales and marketing, along with broadcast experience.

Sicard said that of the three applicants, they had to weigh the experiences of each for the position.  One had prior municipal government background, and another a strong Human Resources resume.

Sicard said, “we determined, let’s go with Chris and use that marketing. That’s were our previous town manager came from.”

He also said that Chris will benefit from Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) and Indiana Municipal Managers Association (IMMA) to help him get up to speed in his new role.

James says that the decision was very much based on his family and the fact that he would be able to spend more time with them.  He and his wife Trina live in Ferdinand.  Trina is the manager of the Ferdinand Library.

James has been with WITZ / WQKZ since 1997 will still call Forest Park sports games on WQKZ at least for the rest of the season.