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New Director Has Big Job Ahead

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2007

WEST TAMPA - People are counting on Romona Sutton. And Sutton is counting on assistance to help her agency thrive.

As the new executive director of the nonprofit West Tampa Community Development Corp., it's her job to reinvigorate an organization whose mission is to help bring economic and social empowerment.

The corporation is struggling financially. It laid off one employee and cut the hours of another. Also, the city recently announced that the federal government is investigating how the group handled two grants.

Sutton said she remains determined and optimistic.

"No organization is perfect, and you are going to face challenges," she said. "Every challenge is an opportunity to learn."

Sutton, 38, came onboard as the agency's first executive director in late September. The corporation's board hired her with a one-year, $40,000 grant from the Local Initiative Support Corp. of New York.

Sutton has a bachelor's in sociology and master's in sociology and social work, all from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. She was a social worker for the Department of Family and Children Services, the school system and a hospital, all in Valdosta.

Sutton moved to the area in 2006 and lives in Riverview. Married with three children, she previously was social services director for the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation III in Wauchula.

Although she doesn't have a nonprofit background, Sutton said there are similarities to social work: working in a community and helping low-income people.

She wants to develop partnerships with banks and local businesses to help bring in money for the organization. She said she is writing grants and meeting with business leaders and school district officials.

"I want to make sure there is funding coming in," Sutton said. "The more funding that is coming in the more we can do for the residents of the community."

The corporation has worked with adults on job placement, affordable housing and business plans. But its work with youngsters has been inconsistent, Sutton said.

She said she's considering creating youth programs such as a mentoring program she helped develop in Valdosta.

Margaret Fisher, the corporation's board chairwoman, said Sutton brings energy and leadership. She hopes the organization can improve community relationships and enhance economic and social investment under Sutton's guidance.

"She knows how to get people involved," corporation board member Randolph Kinsey said. "Our organization needed that leadership.

"Every organization needs someone who is a full-time leader," said Kinsey, who helped form the organization.

Founded in 1999, the corporation's boundaries are Columbus Drive, Kennedy Boulevard, Himes Avenue and the Hillsborough River.

The corporation, 1803 N. Howard Ave., has an annual budget of about $221,000, with funding from grants and the sale of affordable housing.

The agency has one full-time employee, Sutton, and one part-time employee, Michael Randolph, economic development director. Before Sutton's arrival, Randolph had been the face of the agency since coming onboard in 2001.

The agency also hired a clerk who is paid by AARP.

Fisher said the corporation hopes to retain the executive director position with money raised from sponsorships, grants, fundraisers and other sources.

Janice Williams, president of the Old West Tampa Neighborhood Association and Crime Watch, said she wants the corporation to continue playing a role in the community.

She said the agency has helped get developers together with neighborhood leaders.

"I still believe in the West Tampa corporation, and I still need them as a neighborhood leader in order to be effective, in order to address the issues that my neighborhood needs," Williams said.

City officials have said representatives from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's inspector general's office have inquired about two grant programs headed by the corporation.

One program helps businesses along Howard Avenue and Main Street improve their façades. The other is an affordable housing program for which the city awarded the corporation a $463,000 federal grant to build three houses.

The agency built the houses on Palmetto Street in 2006 and has sold two of them.

Sutton, Fisher and other board members said they have not been contacted by the federal government. They said they have nothing to hide.

"You are going to see the corporation in 2008 and 2009," Fisher said. "We are here for the long haul."

Sutton echoes Fisher's sentiment.

"We are vital to the community because we are able to be a voice for the community and facilitate the changes they want to see," she said.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 835-2110 or jpatino@tampatrib.com.

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