A search will begin immediately for a new president of the Carthage Area Chamber of Commerce after John Bode announced his resignation on Thursday, citing personal reasons.

“My wife and I have enjoyed our three years in Carthage and it is with sadness that I must resign as President of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce.” Bode said he will be moving back to northeast Missouri because of family matters that need his attention.

He also said he will continue to serve as Chamber president until a replacement is named.

Lora Phelps, chairman of the board of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce, said a search committee has been formed and will begin the search process immediately.

“John has been a great asset to our community and shared a lot of knowledge with the leaders of our city,” Phelps said. “He provided Carthage with a clear vision of what is needed to be successful in Economic Development. We are pleased that he is willing to continue to serve until we can find someone to fill this position. And we are confident that we will find someone who can help us transition into the future.”

The Chamber has a contract with the city to conduct economic development activities. Tom Short, city administrator, said Mayor Jim Woestman will appoint a city representative to that search committee.

Short said he was sorry to see Bode go and thanked him for his service to the city.

“Fortunately we have a transition period here where he will stay on and continue to work on the economic development he has in the works,” Short said. “John is a good person and I hate to see him go, but we understand the family matters. He’s been a pleasure to work with and worked hard on a number of deals for the city to bring about economic development.
“He had a good vision as to what kind of economic development the city needed and we hate to see him go.”