The newly appointed head of the Idaho Commerce Department is more likely to entertain dignitaries in a drift boat fly-fishing the South Fork of the Snake River than on an 18-hole golf course, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said Thursday.
Michael Journee The Idaho Statesman
That´s one of the reasons Kempthorne said he selected LaMoyne Hyde to take the reins of the $28.8 million state agency charged with spurring economic development to shake the state out of its doldrums.
Hyde´s experience building the flat-bottom drift boats popular with fly-fishermen made him an easy selection, Kempthorne said. Hyde Drift Boats, his Idaho Falls-based company, sells boats around the world.
“I´m very excited to bring an entrepreneur to this position,” Kempthorne said as he announced Hyde´s appointment.
Hyde, 57, will replace Gary Mahn, who retired at the end of 2002 to return to the private sector. Those on the panel to find a new director were Mahn; Phil Reberger, the governor´s former chief of staff; and auto dealers Con Paulos of Jerome and Park Price of Pocatello, Kempthorne said.
The Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee is expected to hold Hyde´s confirmation hearing at 9:15 a.m. today.
The Commerce Department develops, promotes and advertises the state´s resources, products and travel opportunities in the U.S. and overseas.
“LaMoyne knows how to recruit customers to our state, and I believe he can recruit companies to our state, as well,” Kempthorne said.
Hyde said he has some “tweaking” to do within the department, but has no immediate plans to make big changes.
“What I hope to do is join the team, not be the team,” Hyde said.
He offered little insight into how he will steer the state through the troubled economy.
“We just don´t give up,” he said.
Hyde comes with accolades from an East Idaho lawmaker.
Rep. Lee Gagner, R-Idaho Falls, said he has known Hyde for years and he got into the drift boat business through building airplane frames.
“He was just able to merge his avocation with his business,” Gagner said.
Hyde, a member of the Eastern Idaho Economic Council and the Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, has “been very, very involved in economic development in Idaho Falls,” Gagner said.
“He´s a superb businessman,” Gagner said. “To have a businessman leading this organization is the biggest plus we can find.”
In addition to his drift boat company, Hyde also owns an outfitting company, a water conditioning company, an Island Park lodge and restaurant and two fly-fishing shops.
Kempthorne expects Hyde´s experience catering to anglers and other outdoorsmen to help the Commerce Department keep “a sustained focus on tourism” as an economic development tool for the state.
“In this very tough economic recession, one industry that continues to do relatively well, if not quite well, is tourism,” Kempthorne said.
Kempthorne is most familiar with Hyde´s work through the Commerce Department advisory positions he´s held. Hyde is a member of Kempthorne´s Idaho Travel Council and has served on the governor´s Economic Advisory Board. The two first met in 1999 when Hyde was a finalist for an appointment to the state Fish and Game board.
“I was so impressed with the interview that I called him and said I wanted him to serve in a different capacity. That´s when I appointed him to the Economic Development Council,” Kempthorne said.
Hyde´s Commerce Department advisory experience has given him more on-the-job training within the department than most who´ve held the job, Kempthorne said.
To offer story ideas or comments, contact Michael Journee mjournee@idahostatesman.com or 208-377-6465