The Arizona Interscholastic Association's executive board voted unanimously to have Chuck Schmidt succeed Dr. Harold Slemmer as the AIA's next executive director after Dr. Slemmer retires in 2017. 

The announcement was made Tuesday during the board's monthly meeting in Phoenix.

"It's been a great (16 years)," said Dr. Slemmer, the AIA's executive director since 1999. "I was able to accomplish a lot with the help of Chuck Schmidt, and Chuck has been absolutely key in many of the improvements we've made and transitions that we had to make over the past few years. I think its time now for him now, and very deservingly so, to have the opportunity to lead this organization over the next X amount of years and to take it to the next level. He certainly has the skill and intellect and vision to that.”

Schmidt, 48, joined the AIA in 2000 as a community relations liason after a four-year stint at Valley Lutheran High School. 

In 2006 he was named the AIA's chief operation officer before becoming the AIA's current associate executive director. 

Dr. Slemmer's tour of duty at Arizona high schools began at McClintock, where he served for nine seasons as a coach and administrator. He also made stops at Marcos de Niza and at Mountain Pointe, where he was the principal for nine years, before becoming the AIA's exeutive director.  

“I can’t thank the board enough for their confidence,” Schmidt said. “It (becoming executive director) is something I’ve been striving for. At some point I look forward to, if there are any concerns by the membership, to have those discussions. I know there are still (some questions) about changes that were done in 2006, which I had to be the tip of the spear and had to be the person to talk about many unpopular decisions. But as a spokesperson of the AIA, under the direction of the board, we carried out those duties to the best of my ability.”

To comply with non-profit laws, the AIA made several changes in 2006. 

“I believe that the work Chuck has done during the time Harold has been here has certainly been important in helping us advance both statewide and nationally,” said current sitting AIA board president Dr. Doug Wilson  “He is the obvious choice as successor based on Harold’s decision to retire. Chuck is somebody who will continue to move us forward and somebody the board has tremendous confidence in.”