Bay Park Conservancy adds three new board members

Three new board members have joined the Bay Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization responsible for designing, developing, managing and operating The Bay, the 53-acre city park on Sarasota Bay.

With the addition of the BPC’s first full-time CFO Steve Germaine, Tony Gamelin will transition from his prior role in that capacity to become a member of Board of Directors and Finance Committee. Also joining the board are Jeff Jackson, president and CEO of PGT Innovations, a manufacturer of premium windows and doors; and Jennifer Jorgensen, city of Sarasota governmental relations manager who previously worked for the Walt Disney Co. as manager of technology vendor management. 

In addition, Ron Hamilton joins the BPC as senior human resources consultant. He is a former HR executive at a Fortune 500 financial services company and was a consultant for more than 20 years.

“The Bay Park Conservancy is at a critical juncture with the need to balance ongoing operations of existing park with the implementation of new park,” said Founding CEO AG Lafley in a news release. “We are focused on ensuring financial sustainability. We have the funds needed for Phase 2 implementation, but we need to continue to raise more funds for annual operations and programming. We are adding the leadership, experience and expertise we need on both the board and BPC management team.”

As the BPC’s first CFO, Gamelin helped create and implement financial controls and management processes to improve management implementation and operations. He is a finance and accounting executive with a broad base of experience in CFO-level services with nonprofit and private companies.

Jackson is a certified public accountant with prior management experience at the Hershey Co., Coca-Cola and KPMG, among others. He serves as board chairman of the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority.

Jorgensen’s background includes working as legal counsel and lobbyist for the Nebraska School Board Association and has held various leadership and fundraising positions in higher education and the non-profit sector.

Stephanie Crockatt, the BPC’s first full-time president and CEO, is expected to assume her new duties by the beginning of June.

The BPC has also published its 2022 annual report, which highlights last year’s Phase 1 park opening, ongoing transformation of a parking lot into a park, new environmental enhancements and more. The 2022 report can be viewed on The Bay’s website at TheBayAnnualReport.org.