WORDS: Amy Bell
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
From 2012 to 2020, Betsy Benac served tirelessly as a Manatee County commissioner at-large. Although she decided not to seek re-election, one thing is certain: Betsy’s unwavering dedication to the community will continue to have an impact for years to come.
“Local government is where things get done, so I was very excited to get elected eight years ago,” she reflects. “It was a great opportunity to represent the people serving on the county commission.”
However, Betsy’s service to Manatee County started long before she was elected as commissioner in 2012. In fact, she has been giving back to this community since she first moved here in the early 1980s.
Before being elected as a commissioner, Betsy served as Assistant Planning Director for Manatee County from 1983 to 1994. “During those 11 years, I got to know a lot of people in the county,” Betsy recalls. “That’s really where I met a lot of the people who became my supporters.” Over the decades, Betsy has also given her time and energy to a number of local organizations.
Commissioner Challenges & Successes
During her eight years as commissioner, Betsy faced her fair share of difficult challenges, but she also enjoyed countless successes. “You learn very quickly that people are extremely passionate about whatever issue is important to them, and it’s simply not possible to make all of the people happy,” she explains. Even so, she was able to accomplish a number of things, such as some changes to the county’s land development regulations. “I also was pleased to see so many infrastructure projects that had lingered for a long time come to completion, such as the Fort Hamer Bridge,” she adds.
One of Betsy’s proudest accomplishments as a county commissioner was also one of her earliest. She helped oversee the construction of a soccer field at Daughtrey Elementary School to provide a recreational facility for youth in the area. “It had been in the works for a long time,” she explains. “It took an agreement with the school board and donation of sod from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, but I was so excited to see kids finally playing on that soccer field.”
Betsy faced her greatest obstacle when Covid-19 struck—just two months after she was elected as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.
“It was something so unprecedented, something we’d never seen,” she emphasizes. “The role of the local government couldn’t have been anticipated. People were asking us to make decisions on behalf of public safety and welfare issues. People looked to their government for leadership, and I think we did that from the very beginning. I was very proud of the way our public safety and health department folks stepped up.”
Betsy says the county commissioners turned to state legislators for support in the early days of the pandemic. “It was very important to have a good relationship with our legislative delegation,” she says. “When we needed testing, we went to Bill Galvano, and he was able to provide that. We reached out to all of our legislators and said we needed to work together to bring CARES Act funding to the county. They were great, and I credit our staff for having a very quick response and good working relationships.”
Giving Back
Over the years, Betsy has given back to the community in so many ways. She has served on the Bradenton Kiwanis Board of Directors, the Executive Committee of the Manatee County Economic Development Council, the Board of Directors of the Manatee Chamber, the Board of the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast, FL, and the Board of Tiger Bay Club of Manatee County.
She has also been a big supporter and cheerleader for the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) . “Obviously, children are our future, and I think it’s been a great challenge for us in Manatee County to improve our children’s reading skills,” she says. Betsy comes from a long line of teachers—her husband and sister are both retired educators. She also served on the board of Head Start when she worked in the private sector. “I think the ELC’s efforts are so important to our community, as they work to improve the literacy of our kids and give them the best early start possible.”
The Road to Commissioner
Betsy was born and raised in Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1979, she landed a job as a planner in her home state—but times were tough. “The town where I lived had ten General Motor plants, and a lot of those jobs were going overseas,” she recalls. “The economy was pretty bad in the state.”
At the time, Betsy’s soon-to-be husband Bob was teaching in Englewood, Florida. “I had an opportunity to come down and visit him, and I’ve been here in Florida ever since,” she laughs.
After working in the Manatee County planning department from 1983 to 1994, Betsy moved into the private sector. She went to work for Wilson, Miller, Barton & Peek, Inc., a successful engineering and planning consulting firm based out of Naples. “They’d been around since the construction of the Tamiami Trail, and they were expanding and opening an office in this area,” she says. “They were the first business to open in Lakewood Ranch.”
Betsy worked for the company for the next 18 years. She was the first woman to be appointed to VP of the company, and she became one of the owners and principals. “We grew and did really well—until the recession hit,” she says.” Although the company survived the recession, it was bought out by a multi-national corporation in 2010. Soon after, Betsy decided it was time to move on and was hired by Benderson Development. “It was a great experience working for a family-owned company that was known throughout the country as one of the largest commercial land developers,” she says.
When 2012 rolled around, Betsy shifted her focus to public service once again. “The election was coming up, and I really wanted to get back to working for and in Manatee County,” she says. “That’s where my roots had always been. People were asking me to run against long-time Commissioner Joe McClash, so I threw my hat in the ring—and I got elected.”
As they say, the rest is history.
Family Ties
Betsy decided not to seek re-election in November because she wanted to spend more time with her family. “I had initially planned to run for re-election, but my husband Bob received a diagnosis, which made us reevaluate,” she explains. “At this point, I’m really happy that I made that decision.”
Bob retired from Sarasota County after a 35-year teaching career. He and Betsy will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary in June. “My husband is doing great,” Betsy says. “His treatment has been wonderful, and it’s really working out well.”
Bob and Betsy have two adult children, both graduates of Manatee County schools. They also are the proud grandparents of one granddaughter. “She is two years old and pretty much the light of my life,” Betsy gushes. “I’m really happy to have all of my family here locally.”
Now that she’s retired, Betsy spends lots of time kayaking and exploring local parks and preserves. However, she says it feels odd to be on this lengthy “vacation.”
“It’s kind of strange being retired,” she says. While she may no longer be a commissioner, Betsy plans to stay involved with the community. “I will continue to volunteer, and I may eventually do some consulting,” she says. “I thank my lucky stars that I ended up here in Manatee County. We have a great community of people. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve—and you never know what the future holds.”
