Carol Whitmore has been elected to a third one-year term as chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority, the governing board of Port Manatee, which has welcomed Charles B. Smith as its newest member. Whitmore is a registered nurse who formerly served as a city commissioner and mayor of Holmes Beach, Fla.
Also elected to one-year terms as officers at the Dec. 2 meeting of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners were: Vanessa Baugh, first vice chairwoman; John Chappie, second vice chairman; and Betsy Benac, third vice chairwoman. The other members of the seven-person port authority board are Larry Bustle, Robin DiSabatino and Smith. Smith, a Palmetto marketing consultant, becomes the port authority board’s newest member after having won election to the Manatee County Commission on Nov. 4. The authority board consists of the seven members of the elected Manatee County Commission, but with distinctively separate officers and financial accountability. The authority sets policy and oversees major expenditures for Port Manatee. Members of the authority board serve four-year staggered terms, with an annual election of officers. The authority meets on the third Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Port Manatee Intermodal Center, 1905 Intermodal Circle, Palmetto. The meetings are open to the public. Located “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,” Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanding Panama Canal, serving bulk, breakbulk, container, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs regionally, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.