April 14, 2021
Tallahassee Community College District Board of Trustee (DBOT) Frank Messersmith is honored with the Trustee of the Year award by the Association of Florida Colleges (AFC) during their annual AFC Trustees Legislative Conference.
Messersmith currently serves as the Chair of TCC’s DBOT. Previously Messersmith served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1990, and was appointed to TCC’s DBOT by Governor Jeb Bush in 1999. He is the longest-serving of any of the College’s current trustees and has been elected by his colleagues to lead the Board as chair on four separate occasions.
“Despite nearly two decades as trustee, Frank’s dedication to TCC has remained steadfast,” said Jim Murdaugh, TCC President. “He is incredibly well-informed on all our programs and services and frequently reaches out to area businesses to connect them with the appropriate staff member. These are the connections that help us establish stronger workforce partnerships.”
Messersmith is a champion for Wakulla County on our Board. He and his wife Quincee, who is a current county commissioner, are very active in the community. He has opened many doors and recruited donors to raise funds for student scholarships, as well as our facilities in Wakulla – the Wakulla Environmental Institute (WEI) and the Wakulla Center. Under his leadership, TCC was able to create a completely new industry in Wakulla, the oyster aquaculture program at WEI, which has re-employed many out-of-work individuals in the wake of the collapse of the wild oyster industry.
TCC Trustee Frank Messersmith’s words on being recognized as the AFC 2021 Trustee of the Year.
“Oftentimes, I tell people I get more out of this than I give,” Messersmith said. “As any trustee knows it is very fulfilling, rewarding, stimulating to sit with your colleagues and the administration and put together a work plan and the fruition of it has resulted in academic success for TCC students and faculty plus being named one of the top 10 colleges in the U.S.”
Additionally, Frank is a former member of the Florida Public Service Commission and currently works as a consultant specializing in legislative and regulatory matters. His clients include MasterCard and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The AFC is the professional association for Florida’s 28 public community colleges, their boards, employees, retirees, and associates. Its mission is to actively promote, democratically represent, support, and serve the individual members and institutions in their endeavors to provide their students and the citizens of Florida with the best possible comprehensive community college educational system.