Moving on from John Mehner: The search for Cape Chamber leader's successor ongoing

"We've got big shoes to fill," said Aaron Panton, The Bank of Missouri regional president, referring Wednesday to the ongoing search for the next president and chief executive officer for the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber's current leader, John Mehner, will formally retire at the end of December after 28 years in the job.

Last week, at the chamber's annual dinner at the Show Me Center, Mehner received the organization's top honor, the Rush H. Limbaugh Award.

"I'd say we're on track but we're not putting a (specific) time frame on the search," said Panton, who is the Cape Girardeau chamber board chairman and heads the search committee in consultation with executive search firm Waverly Partners.

"We hope to have a diverse, well-rounded and qualified pool of candidates by year's end," Panton said.

"Our committee has developed a profile identifying the experience and leadership characteristics of our preferred candidate. We are open to executives with backgrounds in chambers of commerce, business associations, economic development, convention and visitors' bureaus, nonprofits, private sector or other related experience," he added.

"Ideally, we're looking for someone with a commitment to our mission of pursuing economic prosperity and growth for Cape Girardeau as well as all of Southeast Missouri."