Lee County Tourist Development Council welcomes new member

The Lee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) recently appointed Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Scott Safford to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC).

Safford will serve as an ex-officio member of the TDC.

Safford and his wife, Jacki Liszak, president/CEO of Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, are the owners of Sea Gypsy Vacation Rentals on Fort Myers Beach. They have owned this rental company since 2012.

“Scott has a deep connection to Fort Myers Beach and a strong grasp of how tourism impacts our local community,” said Cecil Pendergrass, who chairs the Lee Board of County Commissioners and the TDC. “That combination of community involvement and industry knowledge will serve the TDC well.”

The nine voting seats of the TDC are composed of three elected officials, three representatives from accommodations collecting the tourist tax and three representatives from tourism-related industries, as directed by Florida Statutes.

In 2022, the BoCC voted to add four ex-officio nonvoting seats to allow each of the municipalities a seat on the TDC. These four additional members represent the incorporated municipalities not currently serving on the TDC in one of the two municipal rotating seats.

The TDC was established as an advisory board to the BoCC in 1983 to increase off-season tourism in Lee County.

For more information about the TDC, visit leevcb.com and leegov.com/bocc.