Aposporos steps down from his chamber role

Tom Aposporos is out from his role as president of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce.

In October, Aposporos first announced plans to step down by the end of 2012, but he continued to serve as the chamber’s president in the first weeks of January.

Aposporos plans to continue his involvement with the chamber, although, for now, it’s on a voluntary basis.
Each day, there will be less involvement, although the board has talked about “ways to include me when appropriate,” he said.

Aposporos’ involvement will depend on several factors, including the future structure of the chamber, and the extent to which any new president would seek his involvement.

Jimmy Seaton, president of the chamber’s board, said that he couldn’t yet comment on future plans.

Dawn Mims, executive vice president of the chamber, will continue to serve in her role of overseeing daily operations.

“She’s pretty much been the nuts and bolts of the organization for a few years,” Seaton said. “It’s pretty seamless as far as that goes.”

Aposporos became the chamber’s acting president in February 2009, following the resignation of Executive Director Gail Loefgren, and was appointed to the role on a long-term basis in June 2010.

Since then, he has been active in town issues, advocating on behalf of the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s proposed Islandside project and serving on the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force.

When he announced his resignation in October, he was considering an appointment to the Anna Maria City Commission.

He ultimately decided against taking the seat at the time.

“I concluded that the appointment was too soon and explained that I needed to be more removed from other activities,” said Aposporos, referring to his role in the chamber.

Still, Aposporos, who was the youngest mayor in the history of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and served on the Anna Maria City Commission in 2002 and 2003, hasn’t ruled out the possibility running for a seat in the future.

Although you won’t see him often at the chamber’s office, you’ll still see him around the Key.

Aposporos will narrate the slide show at the Longboat Key Public Interest Committee’s revitalization public forum Thursday, Jan. 24, in his role as a Revitalization Task Force member, and will recite and narrate the presentation “Frost, Whitman and Langston Hughes: Poems About America” Friday, Feb. 1, at the Longboat Key Education Center.

Aposporos is also a real-estate broker for J Wood Realty and a stage actor.

“I’m trying to recover more time for other things,” he said.