Realtor and school board trustee Kay DeCuir has been appointed to lead the Nederland Economic Development Corporation.

NEDC board members unanimously approved the appointment of DeCuir during Thursday’s meeting. The board also approved a compensation package of $83,000 per year for DeCuir.

NEDC President Larry Ducharme was pleased with the board decision.

“Ms DeCuir has familiarized herself with the many projects the EDC has been working on,” Ducharme said. “With her real Estate experience and retail exposure, she brings local interest and involvement to our schools, city and the Nederland EDC. We are looking forward to working with her.”

The board spent approximately 10 minutes in executive session regarding the position of executive director before reconvening the meeting.

DeCuir, who was not present at the meeting, will “come on board” on July 8 as she makes the transition from her current job, Ducharme said.

DeCuir is currently a member of the Nederland Independent School District board of trustees and the executive director of the Shorkey Center in Beaumont. She is also a Texas Real Estate broker. She will take the position vacated by Mark Rantala who resigned the post in late April after 16 months at the helm.

Rantala, an Ohio native with a commercial Real Estate/sales and marketing background, took the reins on Jan. 11, 2012. His base salary while at the NEDC was $95,000. He also received, according to a story that ran in August 2012, a moving allowance reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses capped at $5,000. Later that year the board approved a motion to increase Rantala’s salary an additional $850 per month.

He bid the area adieu when he accepted a similar position in a county with a population of about 250,000.

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