Gayle Phillips Appointed To Tourist Development Council By St. Johns County Commission

Executive Director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, Gayle Phillips

Gayle Phillips, the Executive Director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center in St. Augustine, Fla., was unanimously voted Tuesday into a position on the Tourist Development Council of St. Johns County, Fla., one of Florida and the nation’s fastest-growing counties. The appointment and a four-year term were finalized during the regularly scheduled Tuesday, July 19 meeting of the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners.

Phillips was recommended via a vote by the current TDC board during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 20, and it was officially supplemented by a letter of recommendation to the St. Johns County Board of Commissioners from Tera Meeks, the St. Johns County Director of Tourism and Cultural Development. The St. Johns County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday afternoon in favor of Phillips’ appointment at the County Auditorium, located at 500 San Sebastian View in St. Augustine.

Outgoing TDC member Danny Berenberg spoke on behalf of Phillips and Henry Dean, the chair of the St. Johns County Commission, was also supportive.

“I have had the opportunity to know and work with Gayle for six years and I strongly recommend her to take this position with the TDC,” Dean said in comments early Tuesday afternoon prior to the vote.

With the appointment, Phillips becomes a rare Black female member of the TDC Board, which was created in 1986.

Phillips has been heavily involved in the community, displaying her knowledge of St. Augustine, Fla., and St. Johns County. Phillips serves as the Executive Director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center among other impressive credentials. Since taking over that role in 2018, the Lincolnville Museum has developed into a staple of the tourism industry for the region and highlights an underappreciated piece of St. Johns County history. After securing numerous successful grant opportunities, the Lincolnville Museum is sure to continue its upward climb as an even more notable tourism location. 

 In more than a decade of residency in St. Johns County, Phillips has interacted with business leaders within the city and county and has become a wise voice for their activities, particularly as tourism, the cornerstone of St. Augustine, becomes an even more vital cog in the fast-growing county’s development. Phillips has a Journalism degree from University of Florida and has worked as a writer and editor at various publications.

Phillips’ work includes roles on the boards of the Friends of Lincolnville Inc., St. Augustine Historical Society and St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. Additionally, she is a stockholder in the St. Augustine Distillery and has extensive experience as a business owner of her own catering business and as a purchasing and accounting employee of Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Jacksonville, Fla.

Gayle’s appointment coincides with St. Johns County’s plans to include a celebration of St. Augustine’s and St. Johns County’s long-standing and understated prominence in the nation’s Black history and the Civil Rights movement, dating back to the 1500s and including iconic locations such as Ft. Mose, the Lincolnville Museum and the city’s cornerstone locations in the Civil Rights movement. 

During a June 20 presentation for 2023 plans by St. Johns Cultural Council Executive Director Christina Parrish Stone, there included a most telling statement: “St. Augustine is the birthplace of African American history,” and cited numerous efforts that have been approved or planned, totaling nearly $3 million in grants toward multiple recipients.

The St. Johns County TDC recommends funding of facilities, programs and contracts to the Board of Commissioners for the purpose of bringing people from outside of the county to cultural events. The nine-member TDC, serving four-year terms, includes a County Commissioner, two other elected officials, three or four members who are owners or operators of lodging facilities and up to three members who are involved in the tourism industry. The Board of County Commissioners solicits applications for appointment whenever vacancies occur and members must be residents of St. Johns County.

Contact:
Ward Clayton
Clayton Communication
jaxclayton123@gmail.com