In their search for a replacement for Administrator Mike McNees, Blaine County officials are turning to a source with plenty of experience, both in finding qualified candidates and with the Wood River Valley.
Greg Prothman, founder and president of a Bellevue, Wash.,-based executive search firm, will once again be plying his trade in the area, his fourth job here in less than a year.
Last spring, both Ketchum and Sun Valley contracted with Prothman to assist with the cities' searches for administrators, resulting in the appointments of Gary Marks and Sharon Hammer. Prothman also organized the recent search for a new executive director for the Ketchum Community Development Corp., which resulted in the hiring of Pittsburgh resident Neil Morrow.
Prothman's work in Sun Valley netted him about $20,000 from the City of Sun Valley and about $30,000 from the City of Ketchum.
Prothman said that as a favor to the CDC and the community, he undertook the search for a highly reduced rate, charging only administrative costs and expenses rather than his usual 20 percent of the starting salary of the successful candidate, a cost structure he called an industry standard.
This helping hand was a result of Prothman's connection to the area, which includes a condominium in Sun Valley, a 20/20 ski pass and his sister, Hailey City Councilwoman Carol Brown. His first professional experience in the valley came almost five years ago when he helped hire Jim Azumano as Hailey city administrator in 2003.
Prothman said he's also reduced the rate for the new county administrator search, but this time on the grounds that McNees, also a product of a Prothman search, was in office for fewer years than anticipated.
"I think we all hoped he would be there for at least three to five years," Prothman said in a telephone interview.
Though McNees' tenure outlasted Prothman's one-year minimum guarantee for successful candidates, it was short enough to warrant a 50 percent discount, Prothman said.
"Once you've done a good job and developed a strong relationship, there's a tendency to keep working together," Prothman said of his interaction with the county. "Someone might think it's a little strange to be doing all this work in a small valley or that there would be a conflict of interest, but these are all unique entities that require different skill sets."
So far Prothman is getting high marks for his work. Praise for Hammer, Marks and McNees comes from elected officials and fellow staff members.
"He's very familiar with the valley and perhaps understands the requirements of the job more than someone who doesn't know the area," Blaine County Commissioner Larry Schoen said. "And it definitely helps that the embers are still warm from our first hire (McNees)."
In fact, the decision to create a county administrator position was, in part, Prothman's responsibility, since he brought Stan McNutt to the county as a consultant and eventual interim administrator before McNees was hired.
"Greg has done a fantastic job," Ketchum Community and Economic Development Director Lisa Horowitz said. "His depth of experience in city government gives him a very thoughtful perspective that we might not have while in the thick of things."
Michael McNees
