Three times, Susan Skelton had a hand in the reapportionment of Senate districts in Florida. The first time was in 1980 when she was a legislative research assistant for the Senate Committee on Reapportionment, which was chaired by the powerful Sen. Dempsey Barron of Panama City.

She recalls working with state representatives Carrie Meek and Arnett Girardeau to, at Barron’s behest, bring about single-member voting districts that would guarantee Black representation.

“This was before there were computers,” Skelton said. “We drew maps by hand and colored in districts with Magic Markers. You had to open the windows to let the fumes out.”

Forty-three years later, Skelton remains a public servant as the administrator of Triumph Gulf Coast, the organization created by the Legislature to disburse damages paid by BP due to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.

Skelton has always been around consequential people. As a high schooler, she worked in the office of Dexter Douglass, who would become one of the lead lawyers for Vice President Al Gore during the tumultuous presidential election recount of 2000.

After graduating from Florida State in 1979 with a degree in political science, she went to work in Washington for U.S. Sen. Richard Stone. When Stone was “unelected,” as Skelton put it, she returned to Florida and worked on a Barron re-election campaign and became his legislative assistant for the final five years of his legislative career.

People including Douglass were disappointed that Skelton never went to law school. Frankly, she didn’t feel the need.

“Why on earth would I go to law school when I had a job in Dempsey Barron’s office?” she said. “I received a full education from him on the legal and legislative process.”

She worked for Pat Thomas and Gwen Margolis when they were Senate presidents. Three times, she declined when House Speaker Alan Bense asked her to serve as the executive director of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Finally, the “big boss,” Senate President John McKay, told her to do the job, and she did.

Skelton retired in 2012 with no plans to return to work, that is until Bense came calling in October 2015 and again put the arm on her. She agreed to take the Triumph job with little hesitation.

Eight years later, she enjoys what she is doing and finds it gratifying to make grant awards.

“It might be for a fuel tank at the airport in Apalachicola to make sure that the community can respond to emergencies,” Skelton said. “Or career-oriented programs that lead to good jobs right here in our area or the law enforcement training track we built in Walton County so that road deputies can feel safe under all conditions.”

The woman who once opened the window to let marker fumes out now reviews proposals for artificial intelligence instruction in public schools. She is helping to lead the region into a future marked by a greatly diversified economy.

“I was blessed to have a lot of teachers in leadership positions,” she said. “Not many people get that opportunity.”

Margolis, the first female Senate president in the state’s history, was especially helpful to Skelton as someone who demonstrated the value of being tough and not backing down.

“When Margolis was elected Senate president, there had been a war between her and Sen. W.D. Childers, who was really gunning for the presidency,” Skelton said. After the dust settled, Sen. Girardeau, who owned property in Haiti and had witnessed political violence there, was in the Senate president’s office looking out the window.

“I asked him if he was OK,” Skelton recalled. “He said, ‘Yes, I am just relishing the fact that there aren’t tanks outside and the military is not here trying to take over the building. We are having a calm transfer of power.’

“I have thought about that many, many, many times in the past few years.”

Susan Skelton was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Becca Hardin, President and CEO, Bay Economic Development Alliance.

Videography by The Workmans

In 1997, Sue Semrau got a call from Florida State University. FSU was about as far from home as the Seattle native could get, and the women’s basketball team hadn’t enjoyed a winning season in a decade.

“Quite honestly, it was a step of faith,” Semrau said. “I could fear what it looked like and what the world said, or I could fear God and take the next step. Fortunately, I said yes, and the rest is craziness. Craziness, but good.”

In the 24 years that followed, Semrau led the team to 16 NCAA tournament appearances and three Elite Eight appearances as the head women’s basketball coach. She was named all-ACC Coach of the Year four times and earned the honor of National Coach of the Year in 2015. Shortly after her retirement in 2022, Semrau claimed her place in the FSU Hall of Fame as the program’s winningest coach in history with 470 victories.

The secret behind Semrau’s success can, at least in part, be attributed to her “people-first” approach. When she arrived at FSU, she did not simply rewrite the playbook or tack on extra hours of practice. She got to know the young women she coached.

“I was the third coach in three years, so I had to establish trust with the players that were there.”

She visited the homes of players, both active and prospective. She met their families and learned where they came from. For Semrau, this was crucial to understanding her team’s needs both on and off the court.

FSU head football coach Bobby Bowden reinforced for Semrau the value of close relationships with players. During their careers, both Bowden and Semrau mourned the death of a player they had coached.

“The advice that he gave me, the notes that he wrote me,” she said, “it helped me understand that people are so much more important.”

Her players were not the only people Semrau invested in. She needed to build a strong coaching staff to back her up.

“Football coaches had an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, a recruiting coordinator,” Semrau said. “I thought, why don’t we do this in basketball where I can grow my coaches by giving them responsibility in different areas?”

Being a Division 1 head coach, Semrau said, is like being a CEO. She made sure her coaching staff had experience that would set them up for success. Now, Semrau’s former assistant coach, ​​Brooke Wykcoff, has taken the reins. Semrau could not be prouder.

Though her coaching years have ended, Semrau has no intention of leaving Tallahassee. She is finding new ways to invest in the community by partnering with Equal Shot to create a three-on-three girls basketball league. She is also focused on the issue of homelessness and looking for ways to help.

“I’m more present with people,” Semrau said. “I’m more present with the things that I am working on. Oftentimes, I think we work on things that we dislike. It’s our job then to turn around and take care of it.”

Sue Semrau was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Brooke Wyckoff, Head Coach, Florida State University Women’s Basketball.

Videography by The Workmans

“Some first ladies have an office and a whole staff,” Sharon Robinson laughed. “I wear green scrubs!”

Robinson cannot help but joke about the honorific. As the wife of FAMU president Larry Robinson, she may be the first lady, but Robinson puts on no airs.

As the clinical coordinator of acute care rehabilitation at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Robinson acts as a physical therapist, team manager and comedian. Her sense of humor and infectious laugh distract patients from the discomfort that can accompany treatment.

“Being a physical therapist, I see people at their worst,” she said. “They’re in pain and they’re vulnerable, and while they’re in pain, I have to convince them that it’s a good idea to get up and move anyway.”

Medicine, education and family are at the heart of everything Robinson does.

At age 3, Robinson went to live on her grandfather’s farm near Memphis while her mother worked at a hospital in the city. Though simple, it was an idyllic childhood filled with farm animals and fresh-caught fish for Sunday breakfast.

Robinson later moved to Memphis with her mother. There, her African American teachers pushed their students to not limit themselves

“They felt that we had the capacity to excel,” she said, “and they wanted us to prove it.”

Robinson graduated among the top 10 students in her class and went on to Washington University where she played basketball and discovered her love of physical therapy.

“I had the opportunity to volunteer with some outstanding physical therapists,” Robinson said. “One was doing research to expand the knowledge of rehabilitation for stroke patients. It just clicked.”

In a single weekend, Robinson graduated from Washington University, married and enjoyed a brief honeymoon trip to Memphis’ Peabody Hotel. Her career began in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Robinson advanced from physical therapist to director of rehab in Oak Ridge, spearheading the development of a new outpatient physical therapy department.

The couple took in Larry’s niece and nephew and soon had three daughters of their own. With a growing family, Larry’s passion for higher education led him to FAMU.

The Robinsons moved to Tallahassee in 1997. At FAMU, he began as an adjunct professor position, eventually became interim president, and in 2017, Larry became the permanent president of FAMU.

Suddenly, Robinson found herself in board meetings, hosting events like the Grape Harvest Festival and acting as a face for the university.

“It’s amazing, but it’s also surreal,” she said. “I keep seeing that picture of myself as a child at my grandparents’ house. I come from such humble beginnings.

“When I was a little girl, I remember seeing these kids from the local HBCU,” she added. “They were always well-groomed, well-dressed, articulate. They set the standard for me. I had this idea, even in high school, that I could not live up to that standard.”

Now, Robinson is setting her own standards — and she is bringing her family, patients and all at FAMU along with her.

“I hope I’m conducting myself in a way that shows young people that I recognize them for the value that they have and for the value that they will be to the world once they accomplish their goals in gaining this transformative education,” Robinson said.

Susan Skelton was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Becca Hardin, President and CEO, Bay Economic Development Alliance.

Videography by The Workmans

Rhea Goff believes in “growing where you are planted.”

As senior vice president and chief administrative officer for The St. Joe Company, Goff has found everything she wants and needs in Northwest Florida.

Now celebrating her 20th year with the company, Goff started as a human resources assistant, which is just one of 10 positions she has held with St. Joe.

She grew up in DeFuniak Springs and went to college at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Goff originally thought of becoming a nurse, but at college she found a passion for child psychology and spent four years working at a campus clinic that did behavioral testing for kids.

“It’s interesting,” she said. “I didn’t know that I wanted to go into human resources, but I actually started doing HR stuff at the psychology clinic doing things like administrative support, and scheduling the testing for students.”

In 2003, she found herself at The St. Joe Company soon after college, working an entry-level HR position at the WaterColor Inn & Resort.

“I probably did every position on the HR team over the years,” she laughed. Growing in HR allowed Goff the opportunity to advance to where she now oversees marketing, information technology and human resources. In addition, she oversees aspects of corporate administration, policies and compliance matters.

Goff said St. Joe president and CEO Jorge Gonzalez’s mentorship over the past 20 years has been vital to her success.

“He has more integrity than anybody I know,” she said. “I also feel like my mom has certainly been an incredible role model for me on how you can be a mom and do that to the best of your ability, but also have a career.”

Her mother worked as a guidance counselor and teacher in the Walton County School District.

“She and my father raised us to work hard and do the right thing,” she added.

Goff currently serves on five community organization boards including those of The St. Joe Community Foundation, Florida’s Great Northwest and the Seaside Neighborhood School & Seacoast Collegiate High School Foundation.

Goff met her husband in high school, and the two have survived even though he went to the University of Florida. They dated throughout college and attended each other’s games.

Now with three kids, ages 6, 10 and 11, the couple calls Santa Rosa Beach home. They share the house with a cavapoo named Rosie, a mix between a poodle and a cavalier King Charles spaniel. Rosie joined the family last Christmas. Goff drives a plus-sized SUV large enough to fit everyone in for trips to travel ball games.

“I always joke with people that I am either with my kids or I’m at work,” she said.

Goff, who describes herself as a woman of faith, said she feels fortunate to be where she is in life.

“The Lord put me in a spot where I was meant to be. I can’t imagine anything pulling me away from this region, honestly,” she said. “It’s just so special. It’s where I want to be and where I want to raise my family.”

Rhea Goff was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Jennifer Conoley, President & CEO, Florida’s Great Northwest.

Videography by The Workmans

Returning from a business trip to Washington, D.C., Lori Kain’s heart was full.

She had just watched one of her company’s self-advocates take the stage on Capitol Hill and present for government officials and key policymakers her story of navigating a life and career with a disability.

“This individual, who is typically introverted and timid, had been rehearsing what she was going to say from a paper,” Kain said. “By the time we got to the Hill, she said she didn’t need her paper anymore. She doubted herself, and then she found herself, and I knew that she could.”

Kain, the director of community and government relations at Global Connections to Employment (GCE), an organization devoted to empowering and facilitating workplace opportunities for those with disabilities, finds purpose in her belief that everyone has talent.

“People with disabilities have wonderful skills and abilities just like everyone else,” Kain said. “They need to be respected, have the opportunity to reach their full potential and feel like part of the community where they live and work. It’s why my team and I advocate for change on the Hill and share with them the impact of policy decisions.”

Kain is well-versed in the world of politics. Originally from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, she attended SUNY Plattsburgh, where she obtained a degree in political science, and began working with assemblymen from Albany and Brooklyn.

Her extensive career has carried her to positions in media, marketing, vocational services and government relations with Time Warner Cable, New York-based financial institutions and area nonprofits, but it wasn’t until she did some “soul searching” that she found her home at GCE.

“I’d never been to Pensacola, but I knew the moment I came down to meet the team, that I was at home,” Kain said. “I had previously been a vocational director working with people with disabilities, and I developed an understanding of all the intricacies involved in finding them work, but my real passion was in government affairs. I’ve been here for seven years now and haven’t looked back.”

Outside of work, Kain has found friendship and community among fellow equestrians, both through volunteer and rescue programs and shows that benefit local causes. Since the age of 8, she has competed in hunter/jumper courses, but Kain said since turning 50, she sticks now to dressage.

“I figured I shouldn’t crash and burn anymore,” she laughed. “But, we have a wonderful horse community here, and wherever help is needed, we go.”

Kain is proud to be an advocate for the voiceless and for those who need a nudge toward discovering theirs.

“Our mission at GCE, and mine, is helping people throughout life’s journey,” she said. “Helping people be seen — really seen beyond what others think defines them — and helping them realize the importance of their story is endlessly gratifying. I’m grateful to have a part in it.”

Lori Kain was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Becca Hardin, President and CEO, Bay Economic Development Alliance.

Videography by The Workmans

When her family moved from Maryland to North Carolina, Leslie Powell-Boudreaux’s parents sat her down and explained that she would be attending a desegregated school. They wanted to prepare her for what that might mean.

“I remember wondering, ‘Why is that different?’” she said. “‘Why is it meaningful that suddenly there’re black kids in my school? I don’t understand.’ I don’t think I ever got a good explanation because I don’t think anybody had one.”

Much of Powell-Boudreaux’s life and career have centered around questions of equity and justice.

As the executive director of Legal Services of North Florida, Powell-Boudreaux leads an organization that provides consultation and representation to low-income and vulnerable people in civil court cases.

She has served as board president for United Partners for Human Services and vice president and president of the Florida Civil Legal Aid Association. She was appointed to the Florida Courts Technology Commission and the Judicial Management Committee’s Access to Justice Workgroup by the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court and to the Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee of the Florida Bar.

“I can’t think of anything more important than that we as individuals feel like we have a safe and fair place to go and have our matters heard,” Powell-Boudreaux said. “Whether it’s being accused of a crime, being sued by someone or actually filing a lawsuit against someone, making sure that we feel like those processes are fair and equitable is absolutely critical to the functioning of our society.”

Powell-Boudreaux has worked in various roles, advocating for victims of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, children in foster care, victims of domestic violence, people affected by natural disasters, disabled persons and many others.

During her tenure as executive director at Legal Services, Powell-Boudreaux has worked to build relationships with partner organizations, particularly those involved in disaster relief, and has worked to mitigate the impact of technology in the courts on people who wish to represent themselves. Both of these issues, Powell-Boudreaux explains, impact people’s ability to access the justice system in a meaningful way.

One of Powell-Boudreaux’s proudest career moments came when Legal Services of North Florida was named Partner Agency of the Year by the United Way of Escambia County in 2015 and 2017. Powell-Boudreaux received the Community Service Award from the Escambia Santa Rosa Bar Association in 2015.

Leslie Powell-Boudreaux was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Charlotte Waters, Director of Communications, Legal Services of North Florida.

Videography by The Workmans

Throughout her house, 17 jigsaw puzzles in various states of completion made up what Kelly Reeser and her family called Reeser Puzzlepalooza 2023.

“I can get lost in a puzzle for hours,” Reeser said, “and I have come to the realization that putting pieces together as part of a bigger picture is what I do every day. I love creatively solving problems by bringing different pieces and parts to the table.”

In her role at TechFarms Capital (TFC), Reeser is fundamentally a dealmaker, a role she first aspired to when she worked with Scott Luth as the director of entrepreneurial development at the Greater Pensacola Chamber and then the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance.

Subsequently, she became the director at a business incubator, CO:LAB Pensacola.

Entrepreneurial development is a small club, and inevitably, the paths of Reeser and Steve Millaway crossed. They talked about successes as well as obstacles in the way of greater achievement. Each recognized that a dearth of capital in Northwest Florida was a problem, one that they resolved to help solve.

Reeser is pleased that in the five years since she joined TechFarms Capital, the capital and resources available to business founders in the region have “grown tremendously.”

Reeser, Millaway and CPA Mort O’Sullivan are the general partners who head up TFC. She values both men for respecting her perspective and “leading me to believe in myself in a way that I had not before.” She credits Kathy Anthony, a coach and meeting facilitator with the CEO network Vistage Florida, for demonstrating the impactfulness of taking a genuine interest in others. And she is grateful to Luth for schooling her in the art of the deal.

“Of course, your parents are your first mentors, and I remember so well the sound my mother’s high heels made on our tile kitchen floor when I was a girl,” Reeser said. “It was inspirational somehow. It made me want to stand a little taller.”

Reeser graduated from Tate High School in Pensacola, earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies at Southern Methodist University while minoring in chemistry and studied in Buenos Aires at the Universidad Nacional de San Martin on her way to a master’s degree in development management and policy awarded by Georgetown University.

Today, her outlook on entrepreneurship is mature, the product of dealings with scores of founders.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t to be taken lightly nor should it be feared,” Reeser said. “So many people get stuck in coming up with the next big idea, but it’s really about identifying a problem you’re uniquely qualified to solve and being audacious enough to take action.”

Reeser has goals that she has not gotten around to meeting. She would like to practice medicine, learn to play the violin and become an aviator. Audacious? Certainly. Achievable? Maybe.

It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together.

Kelly Reeser was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Award by Steve Millaway, Managing Director, TechFarms Capital.

Videography by The Workmans

Jennifer Steele’s home is so overstuffed with art that she feels compelled, it seems, to provide other places for it to land and to be seen and enjoyed.

As the executive director since 2008 of the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA), she is in the perfect position to do so, given the nature of her job, sure, and the support she is grateful to have from the area she serves.

She is energized by her belief that the arts are essential, not frivolous or exclusive, and act as economic drivers that benefit entire communities. She makes developing partnerships with businesses, public agencies and other nonprofits a central part of her job. After all, what’s an alliance without allies?

At its latest strategic planning session, the CAA resolved to be positioned and ready to identify and respond positively to opportunities and partnerships with other organizations, both public and private.

Steele noted established partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast to expand arts education, Point Washington Medical Clinic to bring art to the underserved, Walton Correctional Institution to provide healing arts to the incarcerated, and the Walton County Tourism Department to expand an Art in Public Spaces program.

“All help advance the CAA’s mission to foster the inclusive and collaborative advancement of the arts while filling other needs in our community,” Steele said.

She is quick to shout out fellow nonprofit leaders, most of whom are women.

“I like to think we are mutual mentors, and I greatly value the moral and in-kind support we provide to one another,” Steele said.

Respectfully, she has advice for civic leaders who want to increase the presence and impact of the arts in their communities.

“Be open to collaboration and willing to trust arts leaders to bring something innovative to the table,” she said. “Fortunately, there is a great deal of data showing the impact of the arts on a community’s economy and quality of life, and there are stories to back up the data. The CAA recently joined 400 other organizations in a nationwide economic impact study through Americans for the Arts, and we are confident the results will encourage civic investment in the arts.”

For Steele, educators were her most impactful mentors. She credits her arts and humanities professors and university theater directors with helping her find professional direction and achieve a career in the arts community, which she regards as “authentic and empathetic.”

“Dr. Randy Wheeler is at the top of my list of mentors, and I am sure he is for many other theater graduates of Valdosta State,” Steele said. “I have his mantra, ‘Organization is the key to creativity,’ on repeat in my head. He exemplified a balance of pragmatism, intelligence, compassion, humor and of course, drama.”

For Steele, sources of satisfaction are various.

“Great days at work are when grant proposals get approved, or we confirm big headliners for the 30A Songwriters Festival, or witness the installation of sculptures in the Underwater Museum of Art, or when I see my team inspired by our mission and excited to be at work serving our community.

“Also, a day off is great.”

Jennifer Steele was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards by Melissa Wheeler, Marketing Director, Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County.

Videography by The Workmans

If you manage to catch Heather Ruiz at rest, you’ll likely find her happily perusing magazine ads — studying consumer behavior is one of her favorite pastimes.

In her early career, Ruiz landed a job at the Northwest Florida Daily News. It was there she first envisioned her future in marketing while reporting to the director of marketing Michelle McLeod.

“I always remember, the few years that I worked for her, thinking to myself, ‘One day, I’ll be able to be like this.’”

Later, working in marketing for Destin Commons, Ruiz grew professionally while passionately focusing on the community. Through the efforts of Ruiz and her team, Destin Commons received national honors from the International Council of Shopping Centers in 2017 for their community outreach efforts and in 2019 for Hurricane Michael relief efforts. 

In 2018, Ruiz brought to life the Destin Commons Mac & Cheese Festival to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast. In five years, the festival has generated $250,000 for the organization.

Today, Ruiz’s 15-year Emerald Coast marketing career has led her to Bit-Wizards, where she oversees marketing for the national company and its international partner company TalkingParents. Most importantly for Ruiz, she gets to be involved in the company’s philanthropic arm, Be the Magic Foundation, which works with nonprofits to provide monetary and skill-based donations.

“I’ve always made sure, as part of my job as marketing director, I’m able to continue to give back,” Ruiz said.

On the board of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber and previously on the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation’s board, Ruiz became the youngest female chairman for each. She was also the youngest female member of the Okaloosa County Tourism Development Council before terming out in 2022.

“I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to join those groups of people that are really making such a huge difference in our day to day,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz has had a hand in additions to school buildings and new sidewalks. Tangible improvements such as these are paid for with funds from Okaloosa County’s half-cent sales tax capital improvement program. Ruiz campaigned for the tax, leading up to a 2020 referendum. Ruiz’s efforts landed her a Teddy Award from the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber.

While Ruiz has brought to boardrooms a younger, female perspective, those experiences have afforded her the opportunity to learn from leaders she respects, and she intends to pay their generosity forward.

“I’m very passionate about encouraging young professionals to really step up, to speak their mind and not be afraid to throw their hat in the ring to have a seat at the table,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid to try something new; think outside the box and always continue learning.”

Heather Ruiz was nominated for the 2024 Pinnacle Award by Shantelle P. Dedicke, CMP President & Chief Creative Officer, Frances Roy Agency.

Videography by The Workmans