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Introducing the next group of participants in the 2008 Leadership Marco Program. Since 2002 it has attracted future leaders and community-minded volunteers to take part in a 12-week series of seminars and tours covering many aspects of the island, including government, history, education, health care and schools. As usual, a diverse group of people — ranging from business owners to bankers, to a police officer and an educator — are part of this year’s line-up

Karen Gear

A big proponent of helping to raise funds for the planned new Marco Island Museum, Karen Gear is a banker who’s called herself and her family Marco Islanders for the past two years.

Married to Bruce, she has three stepdaughters and 12 grandchildren, most of whom live in Michigan and Illinois.

Gear has been in banking since 1973, along the way teaching at the American Institute of Banking at Lake Michigan College in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Gear threw her name in the hat as a potential Leadership Marco candidate from an interest in learning more about the community, and to understand more about how city machinations work.

It is, she says, “to understand where I would like to invest my time and efforts in the community.”

Making the most of the island’s inherent natural charms, Gear enjoys walking the beaches whenever she gets a chance. She also likes being a member of the Noontime Rotary Club on the island.

As for the future, Gear says the sees many talented and skilled people working for a better tomorrow ... “building on the wonderful history and nature of Marco to enhance our community, with many exciting challenges.”

Edward Dobosh

Ed Dobosh wears two occupational hats, one managing money and the other generating it.

He’s finance director with Marriott Crystal Shores, the new time share development taking shape at the south end of the island, and is also a licensed auctioneer and owner of Aris Auctioneers.

The auctioneering firm is at the moment based in Orlando, but Dobosh wants to tap this area’s potential as well.

Dobosh and his wife Dawn have two sons, Zach, 20, and Nick, 13.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration specializing in marketing from Central Michigan University, and has more than 25 years of experience in various finance management positions.

He also provides auctioneering services for local charities, benefits and fundraisers.

A Marco resident for one year, Dobosh says his reason for aligning himself with Leadership Marco is to become more involved in the community.

“I believe that the knowledge and contacts I gain through the program will allow me to become a more helpful, contributing resident of Marco Island,” he says.

Looking at the future, Dobosh hopes the island will maintain its charm and beauty.

“The current residents have built a strong foundation that should continue to grow as long as communication channels are kept open and residents remember to look at community ideals/goals and not personal/individual agendas,” he says.

Jacquie Koon

Already known locally as quite an exponent of the game of golf, Jacquie Koon owns the Bayview Restaurant along with her husband of nine years, Curt.

She has a 17-year-old stepdaughter, Olivia, who lives in Norwell, Mass.

Growing up in a small agricultural community in north central Iowa and working in the family restaurant and farm, Koon later attended the University of Northern Iowa with a double major in Business Education and Management Information Systems.

She held assorted positions with the firm Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and worked in account management, sales, financial, and operational management for 18 years in half a dozen northern states.

In time-honored Marco Island tradition, Koon and her husband had the “crossing the bridge and falling in love” experience in 2007, and by early 2008 were new residents.

They bought the Esplanade-based restaurant in February, and are at the moment negotiating a home purchase.

Besides the lure of the links, Koon enjoys fishing with her husband when the twosome have any spare time.

Koon, like many of the other Leadership Marco program participants, cites community commitment as one of her main reasons for participating.

“Because my 18-year career with EDS was so transient and volatile in nature,” she says, “I have not had an opportunity to become a strong member of any individual community since my youth in Bancroft, Iowa.

“As a new member of the Marco business community, I am anxious to learn from the history of Marco and gain an understanding of the future direction of Marco Island.”

Koon adds that she looks forward to attaining a “big picture” view of the city, and that she plans to be an active member of the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

On her hopes for the city in the future, Koon looks forward to a continued strong sense of community and “island living” style.

“I anticipate it will continue to evolve as the Island enters into its next phase of progress,” she says. “As the economy strengthens, there promises to be another influx of people joining the Marco community — as visitors, as tourists, as residents. I hope the Marco community continues to balance the needs of the residents with the needs of the commercial environment to support on-going progress such as the Town Center Development.”