The City of Williston has narrowed the search for the next City Administrator to two internal candidates.

Last week the City Commissioners were informed that two other candidates had removed themselves from consideration after a nationwide search, resulting in public interviews for the City Administrator candidates being canceled.

The City of Williston selected Strategic Government Resources (SGR) to assist in the City Administrator recruitment process. SGR is an executive recruitment firm based in Texas, specializing in recruiting, assessing, and developing innovative, collaborative, and authentic leaders for local governments.

SGR’s proprietary recruitment and vetting process produced a strong field of candidates comprised of 12 applications from 10 states, two countries (one applicant from Alberta, Canada) with two candidates from North Dakota, along with one applicant each from Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

The recruitment process involved semifinalists completing a detailed written questionnaire, pre-recorded interviews, and initial media search, with finalists undergoing background checks, detailed media searches, the development of a written First Year Game Plan, and the preparation of a brief PowerPoint presentation regarding their thoughts on Williston’s Challenges & Opportunities should they be selected as Williston’s next City Administrator.

Although the recruitment process originally included four finalists, unfortunately one finalist withdrew due to an emerging family medical issue and one other finalist recently withdrew to focus on competing searches that were occurring simultaneous to the Williston search.

The two City Administrator finalists are:

Anthony Dudas:

attachment-AnthonyDudasHeadshot
loading...

Dudas is a resident of Williston and has been employed with the City of Williston for 12 years. Since 2017, he has served as the Airport Director, and as Assistant Airport Director from 2013 to 2017. Anthony started his service in Williston as the Airport Operations Officer. Prior to this, he served as the Line Service Supervisor for St. Cloud Aviation in St. Cloud, Minnesota from 2006 to 2011.

Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Science from the St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Shawn Wenko:

attachment-Wenko Head Shot
loading...

Wenko is a resident of Williston and since December of 2022, has served as the City’s Interim City Administrator. He also is the City’s Executive Director for Economic Development and has worked in this capacity since 2014. Shawn’s career started in 2008 with the City of Willison as the Workforce Development Coordinator.

Shawn has a master’s degree in Tourism Administration (Sustainable Destination Development) from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Administration from the Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Residents and stakeholders are invited to meet the City Administrator finalists in a public Meet & Greet scheduled on Wednesday, May 10th from 6 -7pm in the John Kautzman Chamber Room at City Hall. The finalists will also participate in 90-minute interviews with the Mayor and City Commission scheduled on Thursday, May 11th starting at 9am in the 2nd Floor Conference Room at City Hall prior to the Mayor’s “State of the City” Address at noon in the Old Armory.

“The City Commission and I look forward to the upcoming interviews with our City Administrator candidates and encourage interested individuals to meet the finalists next Tuesday evening.” said Williston Mayor Howard Klug.

For more information on this story, please contact Mitch Melberg, Communications Director, at 701.713.3800 or mmelberg@ci.williston.nd.us.

Get our free mobile app

Williston's SNOM . . . The 8 Bands That Rocked in 2022!

Referred to fondly by the locals as SNOM, Williston's Summer Nights on Main is a "must" for your summer calendar. Every Thursday, for nine weeks, a different band is the cornerstone of this summer blast downtown. Checkout the eight bands that rocked in 2022!

More From KEYZ AM 660