Bob Potter might have been the perfect pitch man for Jobs Plus, Inc.

The guy who followed him was no slouch, either.

Steve Griffitts, now the mayor of Hayden and a vice president with Mountain West Bank, took the Jobs Plus helm when Potter retired after 16 years as CEO. Griffitts ran the two-person operation for 12 years before announcing in January 2015 that he was moving on.

“Every 12 years, every team needs a new head coach,” Griffitts told The Press. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past 12 years here, and we’re ready for leadership to take it to the next level.”

Working for a good chunk of that time with Jame’ Davis, now president and CEO of the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, Griffitts kept Jobs Plus functioning at a high level.

“I am most proud of the fact that Jobs Plus did not lose a step in the transition from Bob Potter to myself,” he said back in January 2015.

The Jobs Plus record shows that during Griffitts’ tenure, Jobs Plus helped attract 45 companies to the Kootenai County area, employing just under 3,100 people.

“The fact that 3,100 families have been positively affected by Jobs Plus is the greatest legacy I can ever ask for,” he said.

In a recent interview at Mountain West Bank, Griffitts was asked which recruitment stands out the most.

“ALK Abello,” he said after some thought. ALK Abello is an international high-tech company that quickly created 50 jobs in Post Falls with an average salary around $60,000, Griffitts said.

“This one was fun because we earned it,” he added. “And it was so easy because this is what Jobs Plus is all about: We just outworked everybody.”

Griffitts said while many communities wanted ALK Abello, Jobs Plus was the only entity that visited its facility in Pennsylvania and presented key information he’d gathered from half a dozen financial institutions.

“How about that for cool?,” he said. “And all because you got on an airplane and worked a little harder than anybody else.”

Griffitts said the U.S. Bank call center on Seltice Way was another gratifying recruit, bringing hundreds of good-paying jobs despite serious competition from the Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington. According to Griffitts, the Tri-Cities were willing to write U.S. Bank a million-dollar check to go there.

Griffitts helped convince bank officials of the many benefits of a Coeur d’Alene base of operations — and he played his awesome quality of life trump card.

“Not only is it economically better to work here,” Griffitts told them, “but if you go to the Tri-Cities you’ll have to live there.”

Sold.

Looking back, Griffitts is proud of the work he did, even though he refuses to take much credit.

“My focus was to continue the legacy that Bob, Katie (Brodie) and all of them had established,” he said. “I think it was better when I left than when I started.”