Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB Welcomes New President/CEO

For immediate release
February 10, 2015
Contact:
Lynn Berry, Director of Communications
Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB
417-334-4084
LBerry@BransonCVB.com

Branson, Mo. – Jeff Seifried was named the new President/Chief Executive Officer of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, according to Randy Brashers, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Seifried is leaving his position as the Manager of Regional Development for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and will begin the Branson job early next month.

“Jeff is a proven leader who has the knowledge, skills and ability to step right in and get to work from day one. We are very confident that he will move the organization forward,” said Brashers.
Mr. Seifried’s professional career has largely been spent in the area of Economic Development. In July, 2007 he joined the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and had direct oversight of initiating business recruitment and marketing strategies for the Springfield region.

“SearchWide, a national company that specializes in recruiting executive talent for Chambers of Commerce and CVBs, was hired to find the best talent for our community,” said Steve Critchfield, search committee member and previous chairman of the board. “Over two hundred resumes were received and more than forty-five personal interviews conducted. That group was reduced to ten candidates for the search committee to review. Five were selected and came to Branson for interviews with the search committee. Two were selected as finalists. Turned out, after a national search, the best person for Branson happened to be just forty minutes up the road in Springfield.”

Seifried is a graduate of Drury University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, with a minor in Global Studies and is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.

He has served on Springfield City Council for the past three years and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments. He currently serves as Chair of Drury University Fraternity Alumni Board. He is a member of the Network, the Missouri Economic Development Council, BancorpSouth Community Development Committee, and Drury SIFE Business Advisory Board.