Bellamy elected to one-year term as Manatee County Port Authority chairman

Manatee County Commissioner Reggie Bellamy has been elected to serve a one-year term as chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority, the governing board of Port Manatee.

Bellamy, a Manatee County native, was chosen late Tuesday [Dec. 15] for the port board chairman position during a regular meeting of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners.

Bellamy, who was the port board’s first vice chairman since Jan. 1, 2020, began serving in the chairman role Nov. 17, when Priscilla Whisenant Trace’s 2020 term as chairwoman concluded upon swearing in of new commissioners chosen by Manatee County voters in the Nov. 3 general election.

Also selected at the commission meeting to serve one-year port board officer terms, effective Jan. 1, 2021, are Misty Servia, first vice chairwoman; James Satcher, second vice chairman; and Carol Whitmore, third vice chairwoman.

Port Manatee’s seven-member governing board is completed by Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse and Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

The Manatee County Port 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 port authority board serve staggered four-year terms, with annual election of officers.

Located “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,” Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanded Panama Canal, with 10 40-foot-draft berths serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The self-sustaining port generates more than $3.9 billion in annual economic impact while providing for more than 27,000 direct and indirect jobs, all without benefit of local property tax support.