CSG BOARD

Political ad paid for by Citizens for Sensible Growth in Sarasota County, Inc., 1422 Ranchero Drive, Sarasota, FL 34240 Information@Sarasotacitizens.org

Wade Matthews served 33 years and in eight countries as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State, retiring in 1990. The married father of three and grandfather of two, Wade is active in the Audubon Society, Floridians for a Sustainable Population, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, Better Government Association of Sarasota County, and numerous other groups.

The Citizens for Sensible Growth 2008 Board of Directors

Our directors are a diverse group of community volunteers interested in promoting smart, sustainable growth and discouraging irresponsible, fast sprawl - inducing growth in Sarasota County Florida.

Donald Chaney is a Sarasota native who worked with his commercial fisherman father during summers in Sarasota Bay and Gulf..Don is the founder and current chair of the Chair of the Healthy Gulf Coalition which has the goal of protecting and enhancing our local waters. Don is also the Sarasota Sierra Club's Conservation Chair and participates in a wide range of other community activities.

Kevin Connelly received a marketing degree from Notre Dame and served in the infantry in Vietnam. He owns Apollo Sunguard Systems, which manufactures shade structures for playgrounds, bleachers and auto parking. Kevin is the past president of the Sarasota-Manatee Manufacturers Association and a former member of the Sarasota County Environmentally Sensitive Lands Committee.

Jean Slocum currently chairs the City's affordable housing advisory committee . Jean has also served as a director of numerous other civic organizations, including, Past President and Natural Resources Chairman, Sarasota LWV, President Environmental Coalition of SW Florida and Conservation Environmental Education Program.

Gerry Swormstedt is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, she is a retired mental health counselor and former antique shop owner. Gerry is a past Chair of the Florida Chapter of Sierra Club and has served on national and local committees for the past 17 years.

Gayle Reynolds is a Kentucky native, Reynolds moved to Sarasota in 1977. The graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design and the University of South Florida is an interior designer and the owner of Gayle Reynolds Design Associates. She is the current chair of the the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Bill Zoller is a native of Bradenton, Florida who remembers when you could eat oysters from Sarasota Bay, Bill is graduate of Manatee High School and MIT, where he graduated with a degree in architecture.Zoller worked as an architect in New York and Belgium before moving to Sarasota and establishing his practice in 1971. Bill is the married father of three grown children is also a board member and former president of CONA.

Dick Sheldon was educated at the College and the Graduate School of Business,University of Chicago. He is President of The Better Government Association of Sarasota County and, president of the Nokomis Harbor Neighborhood Association. He is past president and current member of the Board of G.WIZ, Sarasota's Science Museum. He also serves on the board of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association and is a founding member of Save Our Sarasota.

Bill Earl is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Law, Earl specialized in environmental and land-use law for more than 30 years. He is the former director of the Eastern Water Law Center at his alma mater. He is a founding member of the Sarasota County Rural Heritage Group, and a board member and former president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations.

Barbara Tisdale is a director of CONA and a community activist and organizer who has fought to protect Sarasota County neighborhoods from incompatible development to protect Sarasota for her beloved children and grandchildren.