» Ed Armstrong: Powerful real estate lawyer. Partner at Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns law firm. Adviser to local political leaders.

» Lee Arnold: CEO and chairman of the board, Colliers Arnold

» Rick Baker: Term-limited out of office as mayor but a mover in statewide GOP circles; heads the state’s Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida; leading contender to take over as president of St. Petersburg College after Carl Kuttler’s retirement.

» Peter Betzer: Retired as dean of Graduate College of Marine Science, Betzer remains well-connected politically and active in economic development circles.

» Roy Binger: The president of SunTrust for St. Petersburg serves on numerous boards.

Alan Bombstein

» Alan Bomstein: The Clearwater native is the founder of Creative Contractors and involved in numerous civic causes.

» Gary Carnes: CEO of newly expanded All Children’s Hospital

» Mike Cheezem: CEO of JMC Communities, developer of several high-profile condos in both Clearwater and downtown St. Petersburg, where he’s built two high-rises, Ovation and Florencia

» George Cretekos: The Clearwater city councilman has worked closely with U.S. Rep. Bill Young as far back as 1971.

» Goliath Davis: Former police chief and deputy mayor under former Mayor Rick Baker, Davis wields influence in the city’s African-American community and has been an instrumental player in Baker’s plans to revitalize St. Petersburg’s Midtown area.

» Vincent Dolan: President and CEO of Progress Energy Florida

» Holly Duncan: President of Morton Plant Mease Foundation

» Robert Dutkowsky: CEO of computer distributor Tech Data, the biggest Florida-based public company, for the past three years

» Ray Ferrara: President and CEO of Provise Management Group

» Bill Foster: Newly elected St. Petersburg mayor

» Frank Hibbard: Clearwater mayor

» William Hough: The retired founder of investment firm William R. Hough & Co., which he sold to RBC Dain Rauscher in 2004, is a generous and devoted community benefactor.

Larry Langebrake

» Tom James/Paul Reilly: CEO of Raymond James Financial since 1970, James will become executive chairman when he hands off the CEO job to Reilly in May.

» Larry Langebrake: Director of SRI International’s marine technology program

» Darryl LeClair: CEO, president and chairman of developer Echelon International Corp., a real estate and financial services company, LeClair is active in numerous civic causes.

» D.T. Minich: Executive director of Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater

» Judy Mitchell: President of Peter Brown Construction

» Larry Morgan: Owns Honda, Toyota, Suzuki and Mitsubishi dealerships, a construction company and a company that makes mailboxes and signs. Former tire industry executive who started with one Clearwater store and grew his business to 600 stores in 25-plus states.

Darryl Rouson

» Irwin Novack: CEO of Kane’s Furniture; minority investor in Tampa Bay Lightning NHL hockey team

» Grady Pridgen: Founder of Grady Pridgen Inc.

» Steve Raymund: Former CEO of Tech Data, the state’s biggest public company, Raymund has retired but remains the company’s biggest individual shareholder. He is still active in civic affairs.

» Darryl Rouson: Past president of the St. Petersburg NAACP, Rouson is an attorney and state representative.

» Karen Seel: Chairs the Pinellas County Commission

Karen Seel

» Mel Sembler: Founder and chairman of retail developer Sembler Co.; former U.S. ambassador to Italy and Australia. Son Gregg, his wife, Liz, and son Brent, and his wife, Debbie, are all active in the business, political and philanthropic communities.

» Craig Sher: Executive chairman of shopping center development and management firm Sembler Co.

» Matt Silverman: President of the Tampa Bay Rays, Silverman is one of the youngest team presidents in the history of Major League Baseball.

» Gus Stavros: Businessman, philanthropist, Florida Board of Governors member; founder of the Gus Stavros Institute, dedicated to educating students about the free enterprise system.

Bill Young

» David Stone: President and CEO of Liberty Bank

» Margaret Sullivan: Interim regional chancellor for USF-St. Petersburg’s campus, is a national leader in higher-ed administration.

» Paul Tash: Chairman, CEO and editor of the St. Petersburg Times

» Glenn Waters: President of Morton Plant

» U.S. Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young: Former chairman and now ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, Young steers massive sums of federal spending toward the Bay area and is perhaps the single most influential person in Tampa Bay.

Gus Stavros [Photo: Michael Heape]