Environmental leaders and programs swept the stage at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council’s 31st annual Future of the Region Awards at the Regional Resiliency Summit.
The TBRPC’s most prestigious honor, the Herman Goldner Award for Regional Leadership, went to Charlie Hunsicker, director of Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department, who has been working to protect the county’s environmental resources since 1977.
He oversees five divisions that touch the lives of every citizen in the county and reach beyond county lines with accomplishments that include:
- Working with partners at the state and regional level, he was responsible for the acquisition of Emerson Point Preserve and Robinson Preserve
- He led efforts to build public support for voter-approved land acquisitions, beginning in 1986 and then again in 1988, as well as the 2020 approval of $50 million for the environmental lands referendum, which passed by a 70% vote.
- Served as a charter member of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s management committee.
- Helped to write Manatee County’s first mining and reclamation ordinance in 1979, governing the Four Corners Mine still operating in Manatee and Hillsborough counties.
The second “biggie” award also recognizes an initiative that supports the environment. Dunedin took home the OneBay MacIntosh Award, which is given to the overall winner of the Future of the Region Awards program. The city’s Resiliency and Sustainability Rebate Program incentivizes residents and businesses to retrofit their properties with improvements that lead to greater resiliency and sustainability. Some of the eligible activities include elevating a home above the floodplain, installing a whole-house and business roofing system hurricane strapping and tie-down, installing impact windows and doors, and installing an electric vehicle charging station or outlet.
Two programs were honored in the natural resources and the environment category. Pasco County was recognized for its Coastal Water Level Monitoring initiative, which installed sensors to monitor water levels in real-time. Until last year, the nearest sensors were located in Cedar Key and Clearwater, and the lack of local data hindered the county’s response. Through community partnerships, the sensors have been installed in various locations, including a city park, the Pasco School District Energy and Marine Center, and a locally owned marina to provide community members and businesses with free online open access to real-time and recorded tidal and weather data.
The second award in the natural resources category goes to Manatee County for its Anna Maria Island hurricane storm recovery initiative. Quickly responding to damages incurred during Hurricane Helene, a central island location was created for the collection of storm-deposited beach sand across the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, and the town of Longboat Key. A sand sorting and mechanical cleaning operation separated beach-compatible sand from sand contaminated with debris from this location. As a result, 35,000 cubic yards of beach-compatible sand were returned to the island’s public beaches. The 65,000 cubic yards of non-compatible sand were directed to an undeveloped county preserve to be used for road construction, providing estimated savings of more than $1 million.
Tarpon Springs won the economy and energy category with its Sustainable Tarpon Springs initiative that improves the environmental, social, and economic vitality of the city. Fifty actions focused on municipal operations over a 10-year planning horizon are divided into six categories: built environment, natural environment, climate and energy, local economy, equity and community, and health and safety.
Other awards include:
· In the built environment category, Bradenton won for its On-Demand Municipal Integrated Emergency Management initiative.
· Two winners were recognized in the community preparedness and resiliency category, including Oldsmar for the Together We Stand program that brought citizens and community organizations together to provide a variety of support services. The Pinellas County Communications’ 2024 Hurricane Education Campaign also won for an initiative designed to overcome the complacency toward hurricane preparedness and evacuations that provided life-saving information to hundreds of thousands of residents.
· Hillsborough County City County Planning Commission and Manatee County took home awards in the community service category. In Hillsborough, the Future Leaders in Planning (FLiP) program is an immersive, hands-on experience designed to introduce Hillsborough County high school students to urban planning. The Turning Points-Project Smile program in Manatee is a decade-long partnership with Manatee County Community Development that operates the only dental clinic in Manatee County offering free dental assistance to individuals aged 18 to 64 who have low or no income and no insurance.
The Future of the Region Awards program, established in 1994, recognizes the best initiatives across Tampa Bay to encourage local governments and other organizations to share best practices to benefit the entire community.
By Vicki Parsons, originally published May 28, 2025