WAAR still looking for new leader

BY BILL WILSON
The Wichita Eagle

The search continues for a chief executive to lead the Wichita Area Association of Realtors.

There's no timetable in place to name a replacement for Laura Raudonis, who left the post in August to head the Fort Wayne, Ind., Area Association of Realtors.

"We're making progress," said Tim Holt of Realty Executives, the incoming WAAR president and chair of the group's search committee.

"We're looking for someone to settle in and do us a good job for the long term, at least five to 10 years. We're beyond being a stepping-stone job, we believe."

Holt and current WAAR president Lonn McCurdy said the search panel has interviewed several applicants, with a goal of bringing one or two finalists in for interviews later this fall.

The National Association of Realtors is screening potential finalists, McCurdy said.

"We've got a good crop of possibilities," he said.

The current interviews come from a second round of advertising for the position, Holt said, after the initial outreach failed to produce a suitable candidate.

"We don't have a definite goal to get a person in here," Holt said. "We're perfectly willing to take our time and look for long-term results."

Trista Curzydlo, WAAR's governmental affairs director and legal counsel, is heading the organization during the interim. Curzydlo said earlier this year that she will not be a candidate for the permanent CEO post.

"We've got a really good staff in place over there, and they're taking care of the day-to-day issues so we don't feel like we're in any kind of a crisis mode," Holt said.

Raudonis left after more than five formative years at WAAR, in which the organization's outreach and education were increased.

She came to Wichita from the South Metro Denver Realtor Association.

Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or bwilson@wichitaeagle.com.