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Frautschi named interim EDC CEO [The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. :: ]
[August 29, 2014]

Frautschi named interim EDC CEO [The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. :: ]


(Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 29--BLOOMINGTON -- Veteran community leader Deanna Frautschi has been named interim CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, the agency announced Friday.

"We felt Deanna had a longtime knowledge of the community and great leadership skills," said Jay Groves, EDC vice chair.

Frautschi, 66, retired from Bloomington's Country Financial in 2010 after 31 years with the organization. There she held several management roles, including her final position as executive vice president for human resources, communications and learning and development, according to an EDC news release.



Frautschi and a partner also previously owned Wild Birds Unlimited in Normal.

"My main goal is to bring together information and people that are going to be helpful to the EDC moving ahead. Definitely they have several challenges, not the least of which is to find a permanent CEO that will guide the council in the right direction," she said.


She steps in after John Grabo, who began as CEO in January, resigned this month, citing family considerations. Frautschi's appointment is effective Tuesday.

Frautschi has been active in many community organizations, including United Way, First Night Bloomington-Normal, Leadership McLean County, the Humane Society of Central Illinois and the Multicultural Leadership Program.

"Because of my work with other non-profits in leadership roles, including evaluation of strategic direction, goal-setting and executive search assistance, this makes the interim role a good fit for me," she said.

Frautschi will hold the position for a maximum of six months and will work 20-25 hours per week. Groves and Frautschi both declined to release her salary.

Meanwhile, the EDC's executive committee will meet next week to discuss the search process for the next CEO, Groves said.

"We definitely hope to complete the process in less than six months," he said.

Ideally, the next CEO will focus on attracting and retaining businesses, developing relationships with EDC investors and creating a long-term strategic plan for the organization, Groves said.

Along with leading the day-to-day operations of the EDC, Frautschi will help in the search. She's had experience finding leaders for the Baby Fold and United Way.

"One of the really important things is to make sure you get input from all interested parties up front about what they are looking for," Frautschi said.

___ (c)2014 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) Visit The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) at www.pantagraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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