WATCH: Tim Deratany Unanimously Elected Chairman of Brevard County Tourist Development Council

By  //  February 5, 2019


SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Veteran Brevard County Tourist Development Council member Tim Deratany has been unanimously elected chairman of the board for 2019.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Veteran Brevard County Tourist Development Council member Tim Deratany has been unanimously elected chairman of the board for 2019.

Deratany was elected chair by the nine-member board, with restaurateur Laurilee Thompson getting the nod as vice chair.

“I was both surprised and honored to be elected chairman,” said Deratany, who has been a board member of the TDC since 2012 after being appointed by former County Commissioner Trudie Infantini.

Deratany, a resident of south Merritt Island, said among his priorities are culture and the arts, and capital projects and initiatives.

An accomplished artist in his own right, Deratany has been a member of the Florida Council on Arts and Culture since 2010, having been appointed by Governor Charlie Crist.

Veteran Brevard County Tourist Development Council member Tim Deratany has been unanimously elected chairman of the board for 2019. An accomplished artist, Deratany, above with one of his original works, said among his priorities are culture and the arts, and capital projects and initiatives.

A longtime public servant, Deratany was a member of the Florida House of Representatives for the 47th district from 1978 to 1984, as a Republican. He also served in the Florida State Senate from 1984 to 1990.

He was the first Republican Chairman of the Senate Finance and Tax Committee since reconstruction. Deratany also served as the Mayor of the Town of Indialantic from 1970 to 1977.

Deratany was born in Michigan and came to Florida in 1947, and is a staunch supporter of improving the health of the Indian River Lagoon.

Currently, he owns Deratany Consulting and Riverside Realty.

In addition to Deratany and Thompson, the TDC board includes District 2 Brevard County Commissioner and Vice Chair Bryan Lober; media, special event and sports management/promotion entrepreneur Giles Malone; Palm Bay City Council member Harry Santiago; West Melbourne City Council member Andrea Young; Anna Palermo, an account executive for Spectrum Reach; Bob Bauger, CEO of the Baugher Hotel Group; and Debra Green, general manager of the International Palms Resort in Cocoa Beach.

Brevard County Manager Frank Abbate and Assistant County Manager Jim Liesenfelt recently conducted the interviews of the three shortlisted TDC executive director candidates, which included Edward CaumPeter Cranis and Susan Phillips.

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO BE NAMED SOON

Brevard County Manager Frank Abbate and Assistant County Manager Jim Liesenfelt recently conducted the interviews of the three shortlisted TDC executive director candidates, which included Edward CaumPeter Cranis and Susan Phillips.

After being interviewed last week, the three finalists participated in a Meet and Greet with the members of the Brevard County Commission and the Tourism Development Council.

The final selection, which is expected soon, will be made by Abbate and his staff.

Bonnie King is acting as the Brevard County Tourist Development Council’s interim executive director until a replacement is selected. She is scheduled to retire in June 2019.

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The Brevard County Tourist Development Council was established to promote growth, development and quality of tourism on the Space Coast.

The Brevard County Tourist Development Council consists of nine members appointed by the County Commission that oversees the Tourist Development Tax (Resort Tax), a 5 percent tax on the total rental amount collected from every person or other party who rents, leases, or lets for consideration living quarters or accommodation in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment motel, rooming house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, or condominiums for a period of 6 months or less.

This tax, which is projected to generate about $16 million this year, is collected by the Brevard County Tax Collector and is in addition to the 7 percent State of Florida Sales and Use Tax remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue.

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