At the December Captiva Erosion Prevention District board meeting, Jim Boyle was elected chairman, succeeding Mike Mullins. Doris Holzheimer was re-elected vice chairman, Harry Kaiser was re-elected secretary, and Dave Jensen was re-elected as treasurer. Each will serve a one-year term.

Chairman Boyle holds a bachelor’s degree in food technology from Rutgers University and a master’s in operations engineering from Penn State. He has had a long and successful career worldwide as a manufacturing executive and board member with T.J. Limpton, Ragu Foods, Inc., and Unilever, N.A. In 1996, Boyle founded and operated an Australian-based wildflower export company and a U.S.-based flower import company, overseeing the sourcing, logistics, marketing, sales and distibution of fresh cut wild and exotic flowers.

Boyle has been involved with CEPD since he came to the island in 1997.

“I have always felt that it is critically important to protect our beautiful beaches, as well as the waters surrounding our very special island,” he said. “I see it as a ‘duty of care’ to preserve and maintain them for future generations of all species to enjoy as we all do today.”

He was named to the CEPD Board of Commissioners in May 2011. He and his wife Fran are lifetime members of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation and members of both the Captiva Civic Association and the Captiva Property Owners Association. Boyle currently serves as secreatary of the Captiva Community Panel.