Longboat Key communications department evolves

The town of Longboat Key continues its slow-moving change of guard.

A new mayor was chosen in March. The police chief has been on the job for less than a year. The town manager’s replacement will begin in September. And on Oct. 1, there will be a new head of communications.

Savannah Cobb will lead the town’s communications team starting in the fall, taking on new responsibilities that include responding to requests from the media and public. Tina Adams, who has led the five-person communications team since its makeshift reformation in the wake of the 2024 hurricanes, will continue as spokesperson for the police and fire departments.

“It’s going to help relieve me of some of my duties,” Adams said. “I’ll be able to get back more into the public safety side of it and get a bit more creative with our content.”

Cobb began working for the town as an intern in 2017 after graduating from the University of Florida. She worked in the town clerk’s office as administrative assistant at the front desk. When Susan Phillips retired from her position as assistant to the town manager in 2025, Cobb applied and started in the new role, where she assists both the town manager and assistant town manager in daily duties and oversees large projects like the Citizen’s Academy and annual survey.

She has worked on the Key for nearly a decade, and lived there even longer, growing up on the barrier island.

“I have a lot of emotional equity into this community. I love it. It’s pretty much all I’ve ever known,” Cobb said. “So it’s kind of like an honor and privilege to be able to give back through a public service.”

Leading communications was a task Phillips undertook when she was on the job. Now, communications will once again stem from the town manager’s office. 

“I think (Cobb’s) role in the town manager’s office makes her a good fit,” Adams said. “A lot of our information is coming out of the town manager’s office to begin with, so it only makes sense having that role come from the town manager’s office.”

Cobb said in the coming months she will focus on understanding the responsibilities of leading a communications team to ensure a seamless transition.

“From the outside looking in, the transition should be seamless,” Cobb said. “The main thing was just to take more off Tina’s plate. We have a team now, and I think that’s a huge benefit to the town.”

Cobb can be reached at 941-316-1955 or by email at [email protected].