PANAMA CITY — Northwest Florida now has eyes and ears in the Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA), the state’s top group for leaders in community redevelopment and urban renewal.
Toni Shamplain, program manager of the Downtown North Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), was elected to the FRA board of directors in late October. Besides being the only representative from Northwest Florida and Panama City’s first elected member, Shamplain is also the first African-American woman to be part of the prestigious group.
The most significant honor, Shamplain said, is being able to bring the most up-to-date information and methods of redevelopment back to be used in her home town.
“To return to Panama City and be recognized in my home town is just the crown,” Shamplain said. “Being able to sit shoulder to shoulder with leaders from across the state will assist us here and help us move forward in our community.”
About three members from across Florida are elected to the FRA each year for a six-year term.
Former President Steve Lindorff, of Jacksonville Beach, was passing the torch to his predecessor on the same date Shamplain was elected. Lindorff said the experience and education gained by being part of the FRA is invaluable.
“People doing redevelopment in Florida are the best and the brightest,” Lindorff said. “Being elected to the board is the highest of achievements in their field.”
The FRA meets quarterly and often hosts days of intensive workshop seminars on the most current planning and redevelopment methods.
Many of the CRAs in the Panama City area and Panhandle are just getting started on their respective efforts to remove slum, blight and improve economic conditions in local communities.
The bounty of knowledge and experience offered by being part of the FRA will not only come as a benefit the city, Shamplain said.
“The critical piece is to be involved in the inner circle … and being from Northwest Florida it provides our fellow CRAs with a resource person,” she said. “We can take those lessons and translate that language to the every day person to use in our communities.”
After more than a decade with the city, serving at times as CRA manager, Millville CRA manager and currently the Downtown North CRA manager — the most expansive of the CRAs — Shamplain said the position validates her efforts.
“It lets me know … I am on the right track,” Shamplain said.
Founded in 1974, FRA is a not-for-profit organization which encourages adoption of legal and financial tools and programs favorable to community growth and serves as a statewide clearinghouse for redevelopment information.
The first board meeting of 2014 Shamplain will attend as a member takes place in January.
