Mr. Sandy Sanders named interim Fort Smith chamber president (Updated)

Just call Sandy Sanders “Mr. Interim.”

The Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday (Jan. 7) that Sandy Sanders will serve as interim president of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce effective Thursday (Jan. 8).

Tom Manskey, who will step down as president of the Fort Smith chamber on Jan. 30, has been named the president of the Round Rock, Texas, Chamber of Commerce.

On Dec. 12, the Fort Smith chamber formally announced that Manskey was resigning “to pursue other opportunities.”

Roger Meek, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, said he was pleased Sanders agreed to serve on an interim basis while the chamber “conducts a thorough search for a permanent Chamber President.”

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Sanders said he agreed to take the interim post because the chamber is too important an organization to not have some form of leadership during a job search.

“I think the chamber plays such a vital role, not just in economic development, but what goes on in the whole community, that I didn’t want to see the board rush in and try to fill that position and not get the right person,” Sanders said.

Also, Sanders will not merely be a “caretaker” in his interim role.

“We are going to pursue this, I am going to work this and be aggressive and move this thing forward so that the chamber can go out and find the right person,” he said.

Sanders would not rule out accepting the permanent job if the chamber failed to find a new president.

“If it was interesting and fun and I thought I could really contribute and make it work,” then I might consider something,

For a few weeks, the chamber will effectively have two presidents. Manskey’s tenure officially ends Jan. 30, and Sanders begins Jan. 8. How will that work?

Manskey’s primary responsibility is to work with a “live economic development prospect that is considering the Fort Smith area,” Sanders explained. “I will handle all other chamber functions.”

Sanders’ most recent “interim” job, however, saw him leading the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority for six years. He left that post in October 2007.

He also served as interim executive director for the Children’s Emergency Shelter in Fort Smith and a brief stint heading up the Arkansas Manufacturers Association in Little Rock.

“I don’t think this is a long-term situation,” Meek said with a laugh when asked about Sanders’ six-year term at Chaffee. “Sandy wouldn’t have agreed to this if that was the case.”

Meek continued the explanation: “It’s my hope that within a very short period of time we’ll be able to find a quality, permanent replacement. This gives us the time to find that replacement without being pressured to hire someone before we are really ready.”

Sanders has good relationships with Gov. Mike Beebe and Maria Haley, director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, that will help keep the chamber in contact in the right places, Meek said.

Sanders retired as the human resources manager at Whirlpool Corp.’s Fort Smith plant in 1998 after a 32-year career with the global appliance maker. His wife, Sandi Sanders, is project director in the effort to build the U.S. Marshals Museum in downtown Fort Smith.