Chamber introduces new board, honors awardees
The SanCap Chamber held its annual meeting on April 30 at Sundial Beach Resort & Spa on Sanibel — marking the chamber’s first on-island annual meeting since 2022, before Hurricane Ian struck.
President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai introduced new board Chair Katy Forret, with Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, who announced winners of the annual business awards along with outgoing Chair JR Ramirez, with the Casa Ybel Resort.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together,” Ramirez said. “As I pass the baton to Katy, I do so with great confidence and gratitude, knowing the chamber is in great hands.”
I’ve seen her in action — her work ethic and her engagement with the community,” he added. “She is in the perfect position to help this community continue to thrive.”
Forret took the podium with a message of love for the community and resilience.
“These have been incredibly trying years,” she said of her years on the board. “It has made me realize how much I care about protecting and supporting this community.”
“We fought to stay open, we fought to reopen, and continue to fight for the islands we all love,” Forret added. “My focus is simple: to strengthen genuine community interactions, to support the businesses and to make sure every chamber member knows their voice matters.”
She introduced and thanked the rest of the board officers and members: Chair-elect Michael Nachef, with Lee Health; Secretary-Treasurer Patience Rodriguez, with Select Vacation Properties; Capt. Daniel Andrews, with Captains For Clean Water; Evelyn Stewart, with Adventures in Paradise; Leigh Gevelinger, with Coastal Vista Design; Joel Goodman, with VIP Realty Sanibel and Captiva; Ron Clayton, with Waste Management; David Lowden, with Bank of the Islands; Robert Monk, with Law Office of Robert Monk; Bill Wellman, with The Inns of Sanibel; and Samantha Wilson, with Toys Ahoy.
The presentation of awards began with the Sue Rosica Gray Volunteer of the Year Award. Forret presented it to Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church’s Director of Digital Communications and Christian Formation Sue Van Oss, who volunteered her time and services to help see islanders through the hurricane recovery. Most notably, she opened The Gathering Place early on at the Sanibel church for islanders and organizations to assemble and later launched and promoted the Love Sanibel Back initiative, a calendar of opportunities to patronize businesses and organizations last summer.
Ramirez presented Wickies Lighthouse Restaurant and The Magic Bus Ice Cream & Caffeine with the New Business Award. He reported that the combined efforts of the former Mad Hatter and Island Cow restaurants to create a new business on Sanibel’s east end “have brought new life into the businesses that surround them.” Owners Brian Podlasek and Max Kolshak accepted the award and thanked all of the businesses that have opened and continue to do so to bring more people out to the islands.
For carrying “the burden and blessing of being the only hardware store on the islands during our recovery efforts,” Forret presented Forever Green Ace Hardware of Sanibel with the Business of the Year Award. She commended owners Jim and John Stomatitis for their longevity and stability in serving islanders well beyond hardware needs.
Ramirez honored Lisa Riordan with the Citizen of the Year Award for her impactful devotion to island causes throughout Sanibel and Captiva. She currently serves on the boards of the Captiva Civic Association (CCA) as president, Charitable Foundation of the Islands as chair and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation as a trustee.
“(She has helped) to shape the future of our islands through advocacy and outreach with the Protect Captiva Coalition,” he said of her service with the CCA. “(She) is a tireless advocate, a visionary leader and, above all, a generous neighbor and friend. We are thrilled to celebrate a true force for good for our community.”
“This, like being in love, we’ve all had some heartbreak,” Riordan said. “I have to say I wouldn’t want to have gone through that (hurricane recovery) anywhere else in the world but on these two islands. Because resilience here, the friendships made here, the understanding is unmatched.”
She commended the chamber’s board and staff as “heroes of this community” for bringing the islands back through coalitions and partnerships.
“We congratulate all our deserving award winners this year for bringing our communities closer and closer to the incredible destination and home we will become,” Lai said. “I was able to share impressive figures to demonstrate the chamber’s growth this year — 1.3 million website views and a social media reach of more of 3 million, to name a couple. Those numbers would not have been possible without the incredible backing and energy of businesses and individuals, such as our award-winners, along with the strong and giving spirit of everyone on Sanibel and Captiva islands.”