Name: Tom Patton
Age: 54
Family: Wife, Jane, president of the Haines City-Northeast Polk County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and daughter, Lauren, a college student.
Resident of: Haines City. I am a fourth generation Polk County citizen. My greatgrandparents moved to Lakeland around the turn of the century to invest in the newly established citrus industry.
How long have you been involved with the Central Florida Development Council, and over that time, what have your roles been? I was hired as the CFDC executive director by Polk County in 2003 and immediately brought back together the three divisions that are responsible for the sales and marketing for the county: Business recruitment and retention, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and tourism and sports marketing. Recently added to my oversight is a fourth division of the county, the community redevelopment agencies.
Prior to the CFDC, what was your career history? My first 15 years out of college I worked for John Deere Company in the western and southwestern United States. Combining my business degree from Oregon State University with the invaluable experience and education working for a Fortune 100 corporation provided an essential background in sales, marketing, financial management and personnel management that is required to market a county as diverse and full of opportunity as Polk County.
What has been the most meaningful aspect of your career? The learning experience of two entrepreneurial ventures, one successful (Home Court Advantage Crowd Noise Scoreboards) and the other unsuccessful (Booth in a Box Trade Show Displays). Those learned experiences have allowed me to recognize both the challenges and rewards of participating in the economy as an entrepreneur.
What civic memberships do you hold and why are they important to you? As a public employee involved in both economic development, as well as tourism, I am perpetually involved in chamber and other community events across the county. Work and civic involvement typically go hand-in-hand.
One that stands out is the Polk Vision process implemented in 2003. I participated as a citizen during the early community meetings and have worked in my economic development capacity since then to ensure we stay on target toward the benchmark goals set by the community in that visioning process.
As that process is well under way, my latest civic push is toward Polk County's involvement in the larger "super region" with our neighbors in Orlando and Tampa Bay. These multicounty jurisdictions are working toward smart growth principles that will reduce sprawl by developing in higher densities along our existing corridors. The ultimate goal is to provide better livable communities and preserve our natural green space and agriculture, while at the same time providing the job and tax-base growth necessary to keep our communities healthy and vibrant.
How do you feel you serve East Polk County through your involvements? Since the CFDC serves the entire county with equality and without prejudice, my professional involvement in serving as a county employee is countywide in scope.
With that important point made, I can say the CFDC has worked hard to attract a number of eastside (Polk) projects that will benefit the communities that have worked hard to prepare for those projects. Some of the larger current projects include the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, industrial park development in virtually every community, as well as the forthcoming projects of the University of South Florida Polytechnic and the CSX Integrated Logistics Center. In all actuality, all of these projects are countywide in their scope and serve to benefit our entire county.
What goals do you have for the CFDC? Many, but one specific to northeast Polk is the goal to create a high-rise, mixed-use development project near I-4 and Highway 27. Over 15,000 Polk residents from this area leave the county for jobs every day. Appropriately planned undeveloped land provides a demographic that encourages a large employment center in this area. Following the smart-growth principles of higher density along existing corridors, this area should emerge as a well-planned live, work and play community in unincorporated Polk County.
What are some of your favorite aspects about East Polk County? My favorite is that I am close to two major metropolitan cities, but I get to enjoy the more rural aspects of living in Florida.
Outside of work, what activities do you enjoy? My favorite hobby is playing backgammon on the Internet, against people from all across the world. I'm learning photography now from my wife (artist) and daughter (amateur photographer).
