Fellow members ratified and confirmed the election of Joe McClash as 2008 chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority. A 17-year member of the MCPA, McClash previously served as chairman in 2007 and 2003. He served as first vice chairman in 2000 and 2001 and second vice chairman in 1996. McClash was chairman of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners in 2006, which he was first elected to in 1990.
MCPA members serve four-year staggered terms with annual election of officers. The authority sets policy and approves major expenditures for Port Manatee. It is comprised of the seven members of the elected BOCC, but with distinctively separate officers and financial accountability.
McClash is chairman of the West Coast Inland Navigational District, which he also chaired from 1996-1998 and 2001-2002. Since 1992, he also held WCIND's vice chairman position and worked as an alternative representative.
He also chairs the Manatee County Tourist Development Council.
Other boards on which McClash serves include the Manatee County Civic Center Authority and the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program. He also served on the Environmental Action Commission from 1992-1995 and was chairman in 1993 and second vice chairman in 1992.
Other MCPA officers confirmed with McClash include: Ron Getman, first vice chairman; Carol Whitmore, second vice chairman; and Amy Stein, third vice chairman.
Gwendolyn Brown, Donna Hayes and Jane von Hahmann are the other members of the MCPA.
