Veteran chamber leader leaving

Charlie Phillips' decision comes as a surprise to many. Leaders say his knowledge of Tarpon Springs and his credibility will be missed.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 12, 2001

TARPON SPRINGS -- After 13 years at the helm, Charlie Phillips is leaving the Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce.

Phillips, 60, announced this week that he will step down as executive director and will take a job as general manager of B-21 Fine Wine & Spirits in Tarpon Springs. Phillips will stay at the chamber until the end of April while a search committee begins looking for a successor.

Phillips said that Bob Sprentall, who owns B-21, is a friend he knows through chamber work.

"He came to me with an offer I just couldn't refuse," Phillips said.

Colleagues said they were surprised by the decision and sorry to see Phillips leave.

"I was stunned. This absolutely took me by surprise," said Tony Leisner, chairman of the chamber's economic development committee and a member of the search committee. "Nobody has more personal knowledge of this community and its business than Charlie."

Phillips was elected to the Tarpon Springs City Commission in 1976 but resigned a year into his term to move to Chicago. Before coming to the chamber in 1988, he worked for Gulf Oil for 10 years and for Briggs Plumbing Fixtures for more than eight years.

Under Phillips, Mayor Frank DiDonato said, the organization stopped renting offices and moved into a permanent home at 11 E Orange St. in 1996. DiDonato said Phillips has made the chamber more efficient.

"I certainly think that his leaving is the end of one era and the beginning of another era," said DiDonato, a former president of the chamber.

Phillips' decision means that the chamber will lose its longtime leader and his institutional knowledge. Even so, DiDonato said, he wishes Phillips well.

"If Charlie's happy with his move, then I'm happy for him," DiDonato said.

Phillips said some of his proudest accomplishments during his tenure were moving into the new building and overseeing the increasingly successful art festival every spring. He waited until last weekend's art show was completed to make his announcement so the news did not interfere with the festival, he said.

One of Phillips' biggest achievements was overseeing the development of the chamber's Web site, Leisner said. The site -- http://www.tarponsprings.com -- could reach the mark of 2-million hits this year, Leisner said.

Phillips will be difficult to replace because he knows so much about the city and its people, Leisner said.

"The guy just knows everybody in town," he said. "He knows people well enough that they listen to him."

- Staff writer Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or gazella@sptimes.com.

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