Meet the top leaders at Manatee Chamber awards. ‘We are strong because of our people.’

It was all about ethical, effective leadership — past, present and future — at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s 59th annual dinner.

That’s the way that Bob Bartz would have wanted it.

Bartz, who served as president of the Chamber from 1982 until his death in 2017, inspired the award that bears his name. The fifth-annual award was presented Thursday night to the Mac Carraway, a man of humility who is most comfortable working behind the scenes.

“Tonight, we are really honoring Bob who was an incredibly special person. And as I have said before, he inspired me with his friendship, his always helpful outlook, and his belief in always doing the right thing, no matter what. I try to pass these thing along whenever I can,” Carraway told an audience of several hundred in the Bradenton Area Convention Center.

“I know for sure that we’ve all worked hard and worked gladly serving the community, serving this Chamber and our family and friends, all in our own ways,” Carraway said.

He was recognized for nearly three decades of service as a Chamber member, including as chairman of the board in 2009, as a senior executive for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and Pacific Tomato Growers, and for heading his own consulting business.

Among his accomplishments, he represented the political committee Forward Manatee, promoting the successful passage of a half-cent infrastructure sales tax referendum benefiting transportation, law enforcement, safety, parks and preserves to the tune of nearly $500 million.

He also worked with the City of Bradenton to move the Chamber offices into the new City Centre building near city hall. He currently serves on the board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Neil Spiritas, who served as a vice president with the Manatee Chamber for nearly 30 years, said Carraway has lived such an exemplary life that it’s “hard to find any skeletons” in his closets.

Spiritas called Carraway a good person who is responsive, responsible and detail oriented.

Phill Baker, the Chamber’s outgoing board chairman, praised the organization for soldiering through the the pandemic, providing important information to members that helped them survive the worst of times.

“We know we positively impacted the bottom line of many businesses,” Baker said.

The Chamber added 472 new members in 2021, and now has 2,050, maintaining its status as the largest Chamber in the Tampa Bay area, he said.

Baker encouraged members of the Baby Boomer generation to mentor members of Generation X, Y and Z to allow them to grow as leaders.

“Give them a chance to fail, they will surely grow,” Baker said, urging that business leaders get their employees involved in Manatee Young Professionals and Leadership Manatee.

Rick Besio of The Educated Franchisee was introduced as the new chairman of the board.

If Florida was its own country, it would be the world’s 15th largest economy. A few years ago, it was the 17th largest, he said.

“We continue to grow,” Besio said. “We are strong because of our people.”

Besio called the chamber a unifying force in Manatee County, one that brings the voice of business to education, health care and more.

Jacki Dezelski, the Chamber’s president and CEO said the chamber’s 2,050 members represent 68,000 workers employed in this region.