In March 2001, the Pensacola News Journal named the area’s top 20 leaders. The newspaper asked a “diverse group of 50” in both counties to pick the list. The group was all white males. Forty-year-old Collier Merrill was the youngest; PJC President Charles Atwell, 68, the oldest.
- Charles Atwell, Pensacola Junior College President, 68
- Travis Bowden, Gulf Power President, 60
- Jerry Burden, Senior Vice President, Regions Bank-Milton, 54
- John Carr, Developer, 53
- Jim Cronley, General Contractor, 58
- Fred Donovan, Baskerville-Donovan CEO, 60
- Joe Endry, Coldwell Banker JME Realty President, 57
- Bill Greenhut, Greenhut Construction, 51
- Bob Kerrigan, Attorney, 57
- Allen Levin, Levin Rinke Development President, 56
- Patrick Madden, Sacred Heart Health System CEO,56
- Collier Merrill, Developer & Restaurateur, 40
- Eric Nicholson, Developer, 56
- Mort O Sullivan, O’Sullivan Hicks Patton Managing Partner, 50
- Ray Russenberger, Network Telephone CEO, 46
- Don Salter, Santa Rosa Commissioner, 54
- Mike Saxon, Gulf Power Planning Manager, 44
- Al Stubblefield, Baptist Health Care CEO, 48
- Bobby Switzer, Lamar Advertising Vice President of Operations, 48
- Tommy Tate, Whitney Bank Florida President, 51
STATE of ECONOMY – 2001
The University of West Florida Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development published a report that revealed the average worker in Escambia and Santa Rosa earned a dollar less per hour than the Florida average. Two decades earlier, our workers made half a dollar more than the state average.
Why?
Manufacturing jobs had fallen from fifteen percent of the economy to five percent, as workers shifted to lower-paying positions in the service industry. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of civilians employed at Naval Air Station who earned higher-than-average wages and benefits dropped by more than 3,500.
The Panhandle’s economic center and political power had shifted east. Pensacola’s average per capita income had fallen behind Fort Walton Beach and Panama City. Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County was the largest military base in Northwest Florida, with nearly 18,000 employees.
Leadership Shift
1. Belle Bear, Co-founder, IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area
2. D.C. Reeves, Mayor, City of Pensacola
3. Chip Simmons, Escambia County Sheriff
4. J.T. Young, Vice President/General Manager, NWFL, Florida Power & Light
5. Dr. C. Edward Meadows, President, Pensacola State College
6. Peter Mougey, Shareholder, Levin Papantonio
7. Allison Hill, President/CEO, LifeView Group
8. David Deliman, Market Vice President, Gulf Coast, Cox Communications
9. Robert Rinke, Developer, Levin Rinke Realty
10. Julian MacQueen, Chairman/Founder, Innisfree Hotels
11. Bill Yarbrough, CEO, Emergency Care Partners
12. Marcus Michles, Owner/Managing Partner, Michles & Booth
13. Dr. Sunil Gupta, Founder, RSI, IRIS & USR
14. Gabe Bullaro, CEO, HCA Florida West
15. DeeDee Davis, Owner/CEO, NAI Pensacola
16. Aaron Watson, Founder, The Watson Firm
17. Britt Landrum, III, President/CEO, Landrum
18. Bruce Vredenburg, Pensacola & Emerald Coast Market President, Hancock Whitney Bank
19. Ted Ent, President/CEO, Innisfree Hotels
20. Justin Witkin, Founding/Managing Partner, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtr
Fred Levin (2007)
J. Collier Merrill (2008)
Lewis Bear Jr. (2009)
Quint Studer (2010)
Ashton Hayward (2011)
Dr. Judy Bense (2012)
David Morgan (2013)
Mike Papantonio (2014)
Stan Connally (2015)
Bentina Terry (2016)
Rishy Studer (2017)
James J. Reeves (2018)
Lumon May (2019)
Sue Straughn (2021)
Troy Rafferty (2022)
David Bear (2023)
Dr. Martha Saunders (2024)
Belle Bear (2025)