Granby has announced five finalists for town manager.
The finalists are Brian Bender, Ted Cherry, Jennie Fancher, Erik Hansen and Brian Wells. The town will hold a meet and greet with them from 4-7 p.m. Dec. 3 and have two interview panels Dec. 4.
The town board plans to give direction to staff for contract negotiations at the Dec. 10 board meeting. Town officials said they hope the new manager can start in early January.
The manager position became vacant in October when former town manager Aaron Blair left after holding the job for more than two years.
Brian Bender
Bender is the chief administration officer and floodplain manager in Deer Lodge, Montana. Before that, he served as planning director and floodplain administrator in Powell County, Montana, for five years.
He has over 18 years of planning experience in rural and urban settings, along with extensive experience working with elected and appointed officials.
When not at City Hall, Bender is an avid gardener and founding member of the Deer Lodge Community Garden. Each summer he supplies flowers and ornamental plantings for community facilities throughout the city.
Ted Cherry
Cherry is the city administrator for North Sioux City, South Dakota. He has held the role since 2016. Before that, he held the same position in Leoti, Kansas.
Cherry enjoys the outdoors, reading and playing with Ruby, his black Labrador.
Jennie Fancher
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Fancher has lived in Eagle County since 1992. Fancher’s government experience includes an internship for the Irish Parliament, working for metro districts in Eagle County and two terms as an elected official in Avon, including four years as mayor.
Fancher is passionate about local government, making a difference and contributing to community, as well as the Colorado lifestyle and all that it offers.
Erik Hansen
Hansen has served local government for 18 years, most recently as the general manager of the Todd Creek water district in Brighton. Prior to that, he was elected to two terms as an Adams County commissioner and served as mayor and councilman in Thornton.
Before that, Hansen worked as a marketing executive for startup companies and owned a consulting business.
In his spare time, Erik skis, reads and has served as a coach and an umpire for youth baseball games.
Brian Wells
A 21-year Colorado resident, Wells has lived in Estes Park for the last eight years. He worked for Estes Park as the transit program manager and general manager for RATP Dev USA, which contracts ground transportation for Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Wells has an additional 24 years in nonprofit and private sector management.
He enjoys working in the public sector, swimming, reading and the Colorado outdoors.