The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) Board of Directors elected new officers during its monthly meeting on Sept. 27, unanimously electing financial services executive Wendy O. Hamilton as Chair.

Hamilton is a certified financial planner and serves as President of Eventide Investments of Florida, Inc. She has more than 25 years of financial service and asset management experience and specializes in managing multi-manager and multi-generational portfolios. Hamilton also participates in numerous community service initiatives, including the Women’s Giving Alliance, and is a former board member of both The Bolles School and the YWCA/Community Connections.

Hamilton and the following officers will serve in these roles Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022:

Vice-Chair: J. Palmer Clarkson, Founder, President, and CEO of Bridgestone horsepower, LLC
Treasurer: Daniel Bean, Attorney, and Partner at Abel Bean Law, P.A.
Secretary: Brad Talbert, President, and CEO of Memorial Hospital
Other members of the JAXPORT Board of Directors include Immediate Past Chairman Jamie Shelton, President of bestbet Jacksonville; Ed Fleming, Retired CEO/President of Atlantic Marine Holding Co, LLC; and Dr. John Newman, Senior Pastor, The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary.

“I am thrilled to serve as Chair during this time of incredible growth and opportunity for our port,” Hamilton said. “From harbor deepening and the buildout of the Blount Island terminal to rising to the business challenges created by the pandemic, CEO Green and the port’s leadership team have done an incredible job positioning JAXPORT for the future. The JAXPORT team has the full support of our Board as we work together to maximize the jobs and business opportunities a modern deepwater seaport creates for our community.”

Board Vice-Chair Clarkson will serve as Chair of the Audit Committee, which provides oversight on the port’s finances as well as internal and external control systems. Bean, Talbert, and Fleming also serve on the committee.

JAXPORT’s unpaid, appointed seven-member Board of Directors provides policy guidance. Four board members are appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville and three members are appointed by the Governor of Florida.

JAXPORT is Florida’s largest container port by volume and one of the nation’s busiest vehicle handling ports. Cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport generates 138,000 jobs and more than $31 billion in annual economic output for the region and state.