Bellamy re-elected Manatee County Port Authority chairman

Manatee County Commissioner Reggie Bellamy has been re-elected chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority.

“It is genuinely an honor to be chosen to serve a second consecutive year at the helm of Port Manatee’s governing board,” said Bellamy, whose election was affirmed today [Dec. 16] at the meeting of the Manatee County Port Authority, following his selection at the Tuesday [Dec. 14] meeting of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners. “I join my fellow board members and Port Manatee’s executive team in looking forward to continuing to advance record levels of diverse activity at Central and Southwest Florida’s preferred gateway for global commerce.”

Also elected to serve one-year port board officer terms, effective Jan. 1, 2022, are George Kruse, first vice chairman; Misty Servia, second vice chairwoman; and James Satcher, third vice chairman.

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

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 impacts while providing for more than 27,000 direct and indirect jobs, all without benefit of local property tax support.