During the last Leon County Commissions meeting, the Board approved five candidates for five positions on three committees. The committees include the Canopy Roads Citizen Committee (CRCC), the Tourist Development Council (TDC), and the Council on Culture and Arts (COCA).
The first appointee was Curtis Chapman, who was appointed to the citizen seat for the Canopy Roads Citizen Committee for a three-year term ending on October 31, 2024. The CRCC makes recommendations to the County and City Commissions on matters related to Canopy Road preservation, maintenance, and enhancement.
An individual seeking to sit on the committee should possess some expertise in fields such as forestry, local history and should have lived along a canopy road.
Sharon Priester was reappointed to the Hotelier seat on the Tourist Development Council for a four-year term ending on October 31, 2025. The Tourist Development Council is an advisory council that makes recommendations to the Board for the effective operation of any special projects or uses of the Tourist Development Tax revenue.
Ms. Priester is a hotel general manager for Homewood Suites by Hilton. She has 14 years of business experience managing hundreds of employees at various hotels properties. Ms. Priester is a graduate of Jacksonville University.
Mary Elizabeth Keating was appointed to the Volunteer seat on COCA for the remainder of the unexpired term ending September 30, 2023.
Ms. Keating’s experience includes the legal representation and consultation for competitive telecommunications, cable, and technology companies, and electric and natural gas utilities before state and federal agencies and the Florida Legislature. She is an alumna of Florida State University, where she earned her law degree.
Amanda Clements was appointed to the Tourism seat on COCA. Ms. Clements does freelance marketing strategy for local businesses, including public relations, social media marketing, copywriting, and digital marketing. Ms. Clements graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors’s Degree in Communications.
Lastly, Kati Schardl was reappointed to the Business/ Economic Development seat on COCA for a four-year term ending on September 30, 2024. Ms. Schardl, an FSU alumna, has held the seat since September 2017. She is a program specialist/editor for the Florida Legislature and freelance work for Tallahassee Magazine and The Local Palate.
The COCA mission is to stimulate greater awareness and appreciation of the importance of the arts. In addition, COCA attempts to encourage more meaningful and more efficient use of governmental and private resources to develop and support the arts.
Literally, no one cares.