When a few people on the board of the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. approached Amanda Parrish about the possibility of being interim CEO, her initial response was a hard no. “Absolutely not,” she thought at the time, late last year. “I didn’t know the first thing about economic development.”
But the more she looked into it, and the more she heard from board members about what they were looking for, the more she thought maybe this could work. The board has three goals, she was informed in the wake of the December retirement of Sharon Hillstrom, who had helmed the organization for 14 years. It sought an experienced leader to work alongside the three-person EDC team and potentially add to it if necessary; someone to spend time with longtime partners and supporters while also guiding the organization in potentially challenging contract talks with Manatee County officials and commissioners; and someone to lead a reinvestment of time and resources in internal systems and processes.
They weren’t seeking an economic development guru…