Two heads are better than one.
That’s the thinking of the Jefferson County Port Authority’s Board of Directors, which recently hired two people to run the operation.
The board chose Jim McNichols, 43, of Manchester as the authority’s executive director and Cory Schuh, 34, of Hillsboro as deputy director.
McNichols succeeds Neal Breitweiser, who resigned in late August after serving as executive director for three years.
“The original plan (when Breitweiser was chosen) was to hire two people, but that didn’t work out,” said Derrick Good, the board president.
“This time, we had planned to only hire one, but both of these applications knocked our socks off. We had money in the budget, and now seems like a good time to go in this direction.”
Good said the board received several applications and interviewed five people before deciding on McNichols and Schuh.
McNichols has worked for most of his career in the public sector, working for state government in former Gov. Matt Blunt’s office and for the last seven years as the district office director for U.S. Sen. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth).
McNichols also ran Luetkemeyer’s office in Washington and worked closely with elected officials in Jefferson and Franklin counties.
“I’ve been involved for many years working with the stakeholders in Jefferson County, including the Port Authority and the Economic Development Corporation,” McNichols said.
“I’ve been involved in the discussions – but not necessarily the decisions – that have led to the Delta Queen coming to Kimmswick and the cargo container port that is being developed in Herculaneum,” he said.
Schuh, a 2006 Festus High School graduate, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s degree in business from Webster University.
After graduating from SEMO, Schuh said, he accepted an internship at Jefferson Regional Medical Center (now Mercy Hospital Jefferson) in Crystal City.
“That turned into a full-time position,” he said, as contracts administrator.
In 2012, Schuh moved to Home Service Oil Co. as its business development manager and climbed the ladder to chief marketing officer.
When the Port Authority position opened, he said he knew he wanted to apply.
“I have been wanting to support my community that I grew up in and help attract business and economic growth in the county that my family and friends live in,” he said.
Good said the contacts that both have made during their careers will be valuable in their new roles.
“Collectively, they’ve got a lot of experience that the Port Authority can tap into,” he said. “Jim really understands business and government and how they work together. He has a lot of connections from Jefferson City and up and he knows how to navigate the system to get things done.
“Cory has a lot of youthful energy, but a lot of business experience for someone of his age. He also has a lot of good connections locally,” Good said. “I think the two will complement each other really well.”
McNichols, who started Jan. 18, and Schuh, who started earlier in January, said they already have started to figure out how they can mesh operations.
“With Cory’s experience in the private sector, he can identify how we can do things procedurally different. If we have the business operations down, that will free me up to go out and meet with business owners and organizations that we need to make contacts with. And when I’m out of town, Cory will be able to meet with local contacts.”
Schuh said while he was at Home Service Oil, he belonged to “almost every chamber in the county,” as well as the Jefferson County Growth Association.
He’s also been president of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association and the St. Louis Oil Men’s Club.
“He has a lot of contacts with the types of businesses that might be interested in the Herculaneum port,” McNichols said. “We envision that as more than just a port.
“There will be businesses that will be interested in serving the port and its operations – warehousing, trucking, providing fuel to the trucks and food to the truck drivers – a lot of associated operations.”
Good said McNichols’ annual salary will be $68,000 and Schuh will be paid $58,000 a year.
Breitweiser was paid a $65,000 annual salary, plus benefits.