FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Donald D. Stilwell, Lee County Administration,
              (239) 335-2221

ASSISTANT COUNTY MANAGER FINALISTS DOWN TO FOUR

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 3, 2003) - Four finalists for the vacant Assistant Lee County Manager position will have in-person interviews April 15 with a screening committee comprised of community members and county employees.

The four finalists are:

1. Kelvin E. Knauf - a former city manager of the Texas cities of Corinth, Lago Vista and Spearman.
2.  John F. Erar - city administrator of Andover, Minnesota.
3. Kathy S. Rice - former city manager of Waco, Texas and deputy city manager of Clearwater, Florida.
4. Holly A. Schwartz - currently Assistant to the Lee County Manager.

The Assistant County Manager position was vacated in December when Bruce Loucks became Charlotte County Administrator. The Assistant County Manager, along with the Deputy County Manager and Assistant to the County Manager, oversees a number of the county's 25 departments and divisions and is a key member of the county's senior management team.

More than 140 people applied for the position. The county's Human Resources Department conducted a paper screen of the candidates, narrowing the field to a list of 10. Telephone interviews of those 10 were conducted Mar. 27 and 31 by a county employee interview panel of Rick Diaz, Utilities Director, Lauren Roberson, Human Resources Staffing Manager, and Pete Winton, Communications Director.

They recommended the four finalists to a screening panel of Frank D'Alessandro, principal with D'Alessandro & Woodyard RE/MAX Commercial Realty Group, Dick Ackert, president of SouthTrust Bank, Jim Lavender, Public Works Director, and George Williams, Human Resources Director.

The screening panel will interview the candidates and forward at least two - and possibly more - for final interviews with County Manager Don Stilwell and Deputy County Manager Bill Hammond, who will make the final decision.