Former Herald publisher Bob Turner named recipient of the third Bob Bartz leadership award
Bob “Buzz” Turner, former publisher of the Bradenton Herald, has been selected to receive the Third Bob Bartz Award for Outstanding Leadership.
He will receive the award Jan. 22 at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s 57th annual meeting at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto.
Turner served as publisher and president of the Bradenton Herald from 2008 until his retirement in 2017, capping a 43-year career at the newspaper. Prior to arriving in Bradenton in 1979, he already had a decade of experience in the newspaper business, starting as an intern at the Columbus (Georgia) Ledger-Enquirer.
“The purpose of the award is so that people don’t forget who Bob Bartz was and what he meant to the community,” Turner said Thursday. “For that reason, I am happy that Bob is being celebrated in this way.”
Robert Paul “Bob” Bartz was president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce from 1982 to 2017, when he died at age 65.
During his tenure, he helped build the chamber to a membership of 2,100 and earn the Florida Chamber of Commerce of the Year award four times. The Manatee Chamber also was named national chamber of the year in 2007.
“Bob could have gotten bigger jobs in a number of places but he really loved this community and the community really benefited from that,” Turner said.
“A testimony to his leadership and skill is that our Chamber of Commerce is the largest in the Tampa Bay area,” Turner said.
Ernie Withers of Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota, the incoming chairman of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, nominated Turner for the Bartz leadership award.
“Bob Turner exemplifies what Bob Bartz stood for. Bob really exhibits a lot of the qualities that Bob Bartz had,” Withers said, citing his economic development work and his support of local nonprofits and of the University of South Florida.
“That’s what Bob Bartz was all about, giving back to the community. Bob Turner is so deserving of this award,” Withers said. “I’ve known him since 1980. We are very fortunate to have him in this community, still serving.”
Since retiring, Turner says he has enjoyed spending more time with his wife, Dottie, and their grandchildren. He continues to serve on the Manatee Community Foundation board, and also assists his wife with her work on the board of Pace Center for Girls.
Thinking back on the time when he first moved to Bradenton, Turner said there was only one restaurant on Manatee Avenue, and it closed at 8 p.m.
“Today, this is a very sophisticated community. It’s a friendly community, too, growth has brought traffic, but it hasn’t affected the friendly attitude of the people who live here. It’s still very friendly and welcoming,” Turner said.
Cliff Walters, a principal partner with the Blalock Walters law firm, received the inaugural Bob Bartz Outstanding Leadership Award. Ron Allen, president of NDC Construction Company, NDC Development Company and NDC Realty, was recipient of the award in its second year.
