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The incoming president of the La Crosse Area Builders Association was appointed to the Onalaska Town Board Monday night.

Local builder Shane Davis will finish the two-year term of Jeff Henesee, who resigned his supervisor position this month to work a job outside the area.

Davis was one of six supervisor candidates interviewed at Monday’s town board meeting. He is the current vice president of LABA, a local organization that promotes the building industry, and he is scheduled to be installed as association president in September.

Davis was appointed to the board on Monday and will serve until April 2010, which is when Henesee was scheduled for re-election.

“It was pretty exciting to go up against some of the guys that have been around a long time and interested in it,” Davis said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “For (the town board) to deem me worthy, I guess, of doing such a job and to think that I was going to do a good job for them, it was pretty exciting.”

In addition to Davis, Francis Brown, Hubert Hoffman, Steve Michaels, Rinold Zielke and former board member Frank Fogel all applied for the vacant Supervisor 3 position. It took at least five votes before the town board settled on Davis as the appointee.

The 33-year-old Davis, who lives at W6567 Apache Court and owns Davis Design Builders, said his family has only lived in the town of Onalaska for four months. As a builder, he said, his family of six has moved around a lot in recent years, but they like their new home and want to “put down some roots.”

In an application sent to the town board, Davis stressed his civic experience as LABA secretary, treasurer and vice president. He also mentioned serving on the boards of the Arcadia Sportsman’s Club and the Shirley Wright Memorial Library in Trempealeau.

After moving to Onalaska, Davis said he wanted to “give back” to the community and told LABA members about his interest in joining local government. The builders association then told Davis about the Onalaska Town Board vacancy after Henesee resigned three weeks ago.

“I think I might bring more of a different view,” Davis said, when asked what his experience as a home builder would bring to the town board. Whereas the other board members might see things from “a consumer type of look,” he said, “I might see it more as a ‘been down that road, seen where the problems would arise’ and be able to say, ‘Hey, this all looks fine and dandy but there’s a couple issues that don’t seem right.’”

Town Chairman Stan Hauser said that Henesee recently accepted a job opportunity outside of the area. Although he still lives in Onalaska, Henesee is gone during the week and missed the last two town board meetings.

After accepting Henesee’s resignation, the town advertised the vacant board seat in the La Crosse Tribune and received six letters of interest. Steve Michaels was the other finalist for the supervisor vacancy.

In an interview, Hauser said he didn’t believe Davis comes to the town board with any agenda, but just wants to serve the community.

“I don’t know that much about Shane. He seems eager to become involved,” Hauser said. “I just think he’s going to bring a fresh face and maybe a little bit of a new perspective to the board. I’m looking forward to working with him.”