Manatee Chamber’s leadership award winner has ‘done so much for so many’ in Bradenton
John Vita, 58, a long-time community volunteer, activist and leader, received the 7th Annual Robert P. Bartz Award for Outstanding Leadership before a crowd of 575.
The award was the highlight of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s 61st Annual Dinner at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto Thursday night.
“This award gives us the opportunity to celebrate all of the things we loved about Bob while recognizing leaders in our community who are making differences and creating their own legacies,” said Janelle (Esposito) VanHoose of the Esposito Law Group, the chamber’s new board chair.
Robert Paul “Bob” Bartz served as president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce from 1982 until his death in 2017 at 65.
“Bob Bartz was an incredible leader, mentor and friend to many,” VanHoose said. “His leadership was marked by humility, tenacity and a deep commitment to doing the right thing — always.”
David Barrett, Vita’s former partner at The Milstone Group at Morgan Stanley, cited Vita’s record of service: former president of the Bradenton Kiwanis Club, past Kiwanian of the Year, Key Club advisor for 30 years and two-time chair of the Kiwanis Foundation.
“How do you introduce someone who has done so much for so many?” Barrett said.
His other service included serving on the Manatee County Children’s Services Advisory Board, as president of the Hernando DeSoto Historical Society and as president of the Manatee High School Alumni Association.
Plus, said Barrett, Vita served on the Manatee Chamber of Commerce board, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation and the Boy Scouts of Southwest Florida.
Vita’s nephews, Ray and Rich Morris, praised him as a father figure.
“People love them some John Vita. This isn’t something that just happens. It happens because John cares deeply about each and every one of us. He cares so much that you can feel it,” Rich Morris said.
“And that feeling inspires us to go out and be a better version of ourselves each day. I know this is the case for my brother Ray and I,” Rich Morris said.
When Vita took the stage, he said that his service with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce gave him the opportunity to be part of the community.
“The leaders I met had a profound influence on my life,” Vita said. “The work was a benefit to the community and had an impact on the lives of many.”
Vita credited his parents with putting him on the right path, early on.
“Mom and Dad were incredible examples of the right way. They didn’t just preach it. They lived it,” he said.
“You don’t have to be a hero to accomplish heroic things,” Vita said.
Previous recipients
▪ 2023: Bob Blalock, an attorney with the Blalock Walters law firm for his community activism and behind the scenes efforts to build a better community.
▪ 2022: Mac Carraway for his three decades of service to the Chamber. Carraway served as an executive for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and Pacific Tomato Growers and headed his own consulting business.
▪ 2021: John and Amanda Horne, owners of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurants and Cafe L’Europe in Sarasota, for their service to the chamber and their many works benefiting children.
▪ 2020: Bob “Buzz” Turner, former publisher of the Bradenton Herald.
▪ 2019: Ron Allen, Manatee County businessman and community leader.
▪ 2018: Cliff Walters, business and community leader and principal partner with the Blalock Walters law firm.
The chamber’s year in review
In looking at the Florida scoreboard, the chamber’s president and CEO, Jacki Dezelski, said employers have created 4,800 jobs in Manatee County in the past 12 months.
“Unemployment sits at approximately 3%. Projections are that our county population will reach half a million by 2030,” she said.
“While growth like we have experienced brings challenges, I will take that over the crises that come for communities that are stagnating — or worse, declining. Rising to challenges takes leadership,” Dezelski said.
The chamber’s immediate past chairman, Jeff Podobnik, vice president of Florida and Dominican operations with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders, said he became involved with the chamber almost 30 years ago.
“It provides countless opportunities to make connections and impact our economic progress and quality of life,” Podobnik said.
“Our chamber’s founding dates back to 1889. For more than 130 years, leaders just like us have seen how important it is to work together, build partnerships and get the job done,” he said.
A look ahead
New board chair Janelle VanHoose said that chamber members say that workforce development and finding the right talent are their top challenges.
“We all know that the most important resources for our businesses are the people who get the job done. Your chamber will continue and expand our efforts — with many other partners — to build a long-term pipeline of talent for our region,” she said.
Among the chamber’s advocacy priorities are funding for roads and bridges, continued work on residential and commercial property insurance, education and training for the workforce, attainable housing, water quality, small business resources and the tax and regulatory climate, she said.
