Blankenship
resigns, takes
Clermont job
Blankenship
resigns, takes
Clermont job
GREG JONES | Staff Writer
gregjones@dailycommercial.com
Lake County's director of Economic Development & Tourism will be following his former boss to Clermont.
Scott Blankenship resigned Friday to become assistant city manager in Clermont under City Manager Darren Gray, who resigned as Lake County manager in October.
Current Lake County Manager David Heath said when Blankenship returns from his vacation on Jan. 2, he and Heath will develop a transition plan for the department and will decide on a departure date.
"Scott did an excellent job and, like Darren, he lives in that area," Heath said. "Scott did an excellent job at carrying out the commission plan and vision in regards to economic development. After the first of the year, we will set down and discuss his transition, and the person we are looking to hire to perform and foster economic development in Lake County."
Blankenship was hired by Gray in 2011 to head Economic Development & Tourism. Before that, he was the president of Blankenship Consulting, where he assisted clients with new business development, operations management, sales and marketing for more than six years. He is also the founder of Community Association Management of Lake County, a company focused on better servicing communities and utilizing local managers and suppliers.
Blankenship served on numerous boards and committees relating to Economic Development, such as Lake County's Economic Development Advisory Council and the South Lake Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Committee.
Commissioner Jimmy Conner said Blankenship did a good job at executing the commission's vision of improving the county's relationship with the business community.
"I think Scott did a good job," Conner said. "Our commission has worked hard to improve the relationship with the business community, and Scott helped us achieve that goal. He has a lot of connections in the business community. He helped the leadership (commission) implement its vision of economic development."
In addition, Blanken-ship previously worked for the United States Postal Service for 21 years in executive leadership positions in marketing, sales and customer service.
In other news, Heath still hasn't decided on a deputy county manager. He said he would have liked to have someone hired by Christmas, but he said there isn't deadline date to hire someone for his old job.
In recent weeks, he has shortened his list of applicants significantly. After getting more than 70 applicants for the position, he has lowered the number closer to the single digits.
"We interviewed a lot of people for the position," Health said. "We have interviewed people from all over the state."
Friday, January 04, 2013 - www.dailycommercial.com/4jan2013bla