Horizon Council
The Horizon Council is a public-private board established in 1991 to advise the Lee County Board of Commissioners on economic development issues. The Council has up to 80 members representing five cities; 10 chambers of commerce; 16 economic development and trade organizations; 14 community, business, and education organizations; along with various officers and at-large members.
The mission of the Horizon Council is to:
- Help improve the business environment in Lee County;
- Retain and encourage the expansion of existing businesses; and
- Attract new and diversified employment to the area.
Horizon Council Calendar and Membership Roster | Horizon Council Brochure
Organizational Membership
Local Government:
- Lee County Commission
- Lee County Administration
- City of Bonita Springs
- City of Cape Coral
- City of Fort Myers
- City of Sanibel
- Town of Fort Myers Beach
Executive Committee
- Wayne Kirkwood, Chair
- Kitty Green, Vice Chair
- Bob Koenig, Treasurer
- Dennie Hamilton, Secretary
- Bill Schroeder, Horizon Foundation President/Horizon Foundation Task Force Chair
- Doug Gyure, Industrial Development Authority
- John Manning, Lee County Commission
- Karen Hawes, Lee County Administration
- Ben Nelson, City of Bonita Springs
- Marty McClain, City of Cape Coral
- Randy Henderson, City of Fort Myers
- Marty Harrity, City of Sanibel
- Alan Mandel, Town of Fort Myers Beach
- Russell Schropp, Business Issues Task Force
- Steve Pontius, Communications Task Force
- Mei-Mei Chan, Prospect Development Task Force
Geographical Chambers of Commerce:
- Bonita Springs: Sabra Smith
- Cape Coral: Chris Spiro
- Estero: Tony Cardinale
- Fort Myers: Greg Frith
- Fort Myers Beach: Andrew Cochrane
- Lehigh Acres: Jere Carrick
- North Fort Myers: Wendy Murray
- Pine Island: Jay Johnson
- Sanibel-Captiva: Allen Myers
- Southwest Florida: Fred Erdman
Economic Development, Business, Community and Trade Organizations:
- Airport Special Management Committee
- American Institute of Architects
- Cape Coral Construction Industry Association
- Christian Chamber of Commerce
- Cape Coral Council for Progress Foundation
- Fort Myers/Lee County Enterprise Zone
- Gulf Citrus Growers Association
- Human Resources Management Association of SWFL
- Lee Building Industry Association
- Real Estate Investment Society
- REALTOR Association (Ft. Myers & the Beach)
- SCORE
- Southwest Florida CCIM
- Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association
- SWFL Air Conditioning Contractors Association
- SWFL Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- SWFL Workforce Development Board
- Tourist Development Council
Educational Institutions:
At Large Members
- Mei-Mei Chan
- Dave Dale
- Ryan Goldberg
- Ron Inge
- Gary King
- Marilyn Miller
- Denis Noah
- Leroy Sullivan
- Gary Tasman
- John Wiest
- John Talmage
Lee County Industrial Development Authority
- David Barton
- Doug Gyure
- Tom Hoolihan
- Wayne Kirkwood
- L. Gail Markham
- Ric Pritchett
- Robbie Roepstorff
For more information, contact the Fort Myers Regional Partnership at 800.493.4396.
