EDC Board Makes Choice For Executive Director

A Miami area man who is fluent in Spanish and, according to his resume, is able to speak conversational Japanese, French and German, has been tapped to be the next executive director of the Highlands County Economic Development Commission.

In a special meeting Monday at the EDC office in Sebring, the commission's board of directors approved a recommendation from the search committee to hire Dan Murphy to replace Louise England.

Murphy, 61, will be paid $75,000 a year. The board had said it wanted to have England's replacement start Dec. 1. Murphy said he would be available before that date.

Six candidates interviewed for the job last week. The search committee then met to determine its top choice.

The committee was impressed by Murphy's extensive marketing and consulting experience in this country and abroad. The committee noted Murphy had thoroughly researched Highlands County.

Board member John Shoop said Murphy "surfaced to the top" as a result of his innovative style of management. Shoop added Murphy has a lot of good ideas.

"He has a scope of vision we haven't seen before," said South Florida Community College's Leana Revell, who sat in on the interviews.

In a cover letter to England, who resigned earlier this year, Murphy said as "a senior international executive, I have performed development projects as part of a broader public relations and public affairs career." He has worked as a consultant in recent years.

"What interested me (in the EDC job) is the ability to work for a single county," Murphy said. "I want to develop a program and be around to see the results."

One thing Murphy has learned from his research: "We need to build a job base for higher-paying jobs," he said.

Murphy earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University and a master's international management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz.

Born in Indianapolis, Murphy is married and has two sons.

A background and credit check will be done on Murphy.

The search committee's second choice is Bill Bradley, who is from northern Indiana.