During the fourth quarter of 2007, the POA Board established the GM Search Committee, chaired by John Seferian, with members Terry Bacigalupo, Fred Omundson, George Kowalski, John Farris and Debbie Pickett, Staff and Recording Secretary. We were charged with the responsibility to identify for the Board’s selection and approval the best possible candidates for this critical community management position.
Using guidelines and processes set forth in various publications by the Community Associations Institute (CAI), one of the most recognized leaders in community association management and governance, the objectives and tasks of the committee would include the following:
- Establish the procedure for the job search.
- Agree on a job description for the GM position.
- Work with the Board to develop a list of characteristics, skill set, work experience, etc., of the new GM.
- Establish a compensation and benefits package to be offered and negotiated with candidates.
- Solicit and screen candidates via networking, job ads, or any other appropriate measure.
- Conduct on-site interviews with best candidates involving POA Directors, property owners, and appropriate POA personnel.
- Perform extensive background and reference checks.
- Provide regular interim reports to the Board, and when appropriate, to the community.
Most importantly, as the committee and Board discussed current and future needs, supported by CAI guidelines, it was clear that the decision to appoint an interim GM was required for many reasons. There would be a long learning curve for a new GM who is not familiar with Big Canoe. It would take an “outsider” months to understand the character and complexity of Big Canoe (Big Canoe ranks in the top 5 percent based on size and budget of approximately 150,000 Association Communities in the U.S.).
In addition, there were POA organizational and operational issues that needed to be addressed immediately; key examples – Sconti Clubhouse completion and opening, road repaving, golf course renovation, tennis facility improvements, marina upgrades and quality process implementation to provide continuous customer satisfaction. The obvious choice was Roger Klask because of his extensive management experience and working relationship on a daily basis with Stan Stewart.
The results? – Bennett Whipple said it best in his Smoke Signals article – Thank you, Roger Klask!
The committee has been working diligently on the first four items listed above and it is time to move on to item five. For that action item, we welcome input from those in the community who know a candidate meeting our requirements for GM (detailed job description available at www.bigcanoepoa.org ). In general, this is the person we are searching for:
Community Needs of the GM
Personal Characteristics of the GM
Strong leader
Decisive
Team Builder
Proactive; can plan and perform
Charismatic
Approachable; good listener
Communicator
Ability to multi-task
Change agent
Excellent ethics and integrity
Experience of the GM
Managed a $10-plus million budget/multi-faceted organization
Capital project management experience
Directed 100-plus employee staff
Responsible for 4-6 direct reports in multi-disciplines
Operational experience – 2nd line or higher
If you know of such a person that meets our requirements that you would trust to lead our community toward building an ever better Big Canoe, please send the information to
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We look forward to your input.
We are excited to be moving forward with identifying the best candidates for GM. Management continues to put in place a solid base for that new person to build upon through steady improvements by the current POA board and our excellent interim GM Roger Klask.
--POA General Manager Search Committee
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