Port Manatee
Mission Statement
The mission of Port Manatee is to be a powerful catalyst of countywide economic growth and hub of trade-related activity, by developing diversified and competitive deepwater shipping facilities and conducting maritime-related activities in a profitable and environmentally responsible manner.
Adopted in open session June 19, 1996
Port Manatee is one of Florida’s largest and fastest growing deepwater seaports. Located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico at the entrance to Tampa Bay, Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal – providing shippers with speedy access to Pacific Rim markets.
The port and its partners move approximately 9 million tons of containerized, breakbulk, bulk and project cargo each year including fresh produce, forestry products, petroleum products, citrus juice products, fertilizer, steel, aluminum, automobiles, cement, aggregate and more.
Port Manatee is Fresh Del Monte Produce’s second largest U. S. port facility and is also the Southeast’s leading forestry products importer.
As a leading economic engine, Port Manatee adds more than $2.3 billion dollars annually in regional economic impact and supports more than 24,000 jobs.
Organization
Port Manatee is a dependent special district created by the Florida Legislature in 1967. The port is governed by the Manatee County Port Authority – a seven-member oversight board which sets policy and oversees major expenditures for the port. Manatee County Port Authority members serve four-year staggered terms with an annual election of officers.
While the Manatee County Port Authority is comprised of the same seven members as the elected Manatee County Commission – each governing body has a separate set of officers and financial accountability. Port Manatee is not a unit of Manatee County Government and does not receive ad-valorem tax support from the citizens of Manatee County.
2010 Manatee County Port Authority
Click on the member images below to view their biographies (PDF):
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Larry Bustle
Chairman
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Ron Getman
1st Vice Chairman
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Dr. Gwendolyn Brown
2nd Vice Chairman
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John Chappie
3rd Vice Chairman
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Donna Hayes
Member
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Joe McClash
Member
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Carol Whitmore
Member
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Port Manatee Senior Staff
Click on the member images below to view their biographies (PDF):
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David L. McDonald PPM®
Executive Director
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Joseph W. Gontarski
Senior Director and Special Assistant to the Executive Director
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Bebo Smith
Senior Director of Operations and Maintenance
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Steve Tyndal PPM®
Senior Director of Trade Development and Special Projects
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Bob Armstrong CPA
CFO and Director of Business
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Frank J. Holden
Director of Seaport Security
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George F. Isiminger P.E.
Director of Engineering and Environmental Affairs
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