Board of Directors

Elected by our members, FKEC’s Board of Directors represents power consumers in four voting districts from Marathon to Key Largo. The Board has the authority to establish policies and review operational procedures to promote a progressive, financially-sound utility. The Board has nine seats, and each director must be a member in their voting district. Directors must be nominated and elected by their home district’s members according to FKEC bylaws. Directors serve three-year terms.

District 1: Key Largo

Dr. Jim Boilini

Dr. Jim Boilini, a Credentialed Cooperative Director, was originally appointed to the board in 2004 to complete the remainder of an unexpired term for District 1, Key Largo. He was then elected in 2005, and has been re-elected in three-year intervals. He also served as Board President from 2013 to 2019.

Boilini moved to Key Largo in the 1970s following graduation from Indiana University, where he earned a Doctorate in Optometry. Boilini has owned a private Optometry practice since 1975.

He serves on the Monroe County parks and recreation committee, is president and founding board member of Jacobs Aquatic Center, and is a former director of the Foundation Board at Mariners Hospital. Boilini was also a founding member of the Monroe Educational Foundation and the Take Stock in Children program. 

Gretchen Holland • Secretary

In 1999, Gretchen Holland was appointed to FKEC’s Board to represent District 1, Key Largo. Since then, she has been elected in three-year intervals. Holland served as Board Vice President from 2005 to 2018, and was elected Secretary in 2019. She is also a Credentialed Cooperative Director and has earned her Board Leadership Certificate.

After 35 years in the title insurance business, Holland retired from Coral Reef Title Company, leaving her daughters to run the two offices. After obtaining his Law Degree, her grandson has also joined the business.

Residing in the Keys since 1973, Holland has worked extensively in our local community and is past Secretary of FKEC’s volunteer board for the Members Charitable Trust.Holland also served as past Chairperson of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Board of Directors of TIB Financial Corporation and TIB Bank of the Keys. In addition, she is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Key Largo.

David Ritz

David Ritz was originally appointed to FKEC’s Board of Directors in 1999 to represent District 1, Key Largo. He has been re-elected in three-year intervals and served as Board President from 2005 to 2013. Ritz also earned his Board Leadership Certificate and is Credentialed Cooperative Director.

Ritz moved to Key Largo in 1992 and has served on a variety of political, business and cultural center boards of directors. He received a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Florida and is a graduate of the Harvard University’s Kennedy School‘s Senior Executives Program.

For 27 years, Ritz served as President of the Ocean Reef Community Association and Volunteer Fire Department, and President of the North Key Largo Utility Corporation. He is now a business and governmental consultant with Keys Consulting of America along with other local business interests.

District 2: Tavernier

Craig Belcher

Craig Belcher was originally elected to FKEC’s Board of Directors in 1999 in District 1, Key Largo. He was re-elected in 2002 and served as Board Vice President for one year. At the end of 2003 he resigned after he sold his Key Largo home and moved to Tavernier.

In 2005, Belcher was reelected to represent District 2, Tavernier. Per FKEC bylaws, directors must reside in the district they are elected to represent. During his first year on the board, Belcher earned his certificate as a Credentialed Cooperative Director and has now earned a Board Leadership Certificate.

In 1981, Belcher opened Craig’s Restaurant on Plantation Key and ran the successful eatery until 2019. He is also a Rotarian and hosted the Upper Keys Rotary Club’s weekly meetings at Craig’s Restaurant for over 25 years.

Joseph H. Roth III

Joseph H. Roth III was originally appointed to fill the District 2, Tavernier, seat left vacant when Frank Hawkins retired in 2017. He was then elected in 2018 by the members in his district.

Roth, who moved to the Upper Keys as a teenager, is an alumnus of Coral Shores High School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University. Serving clients throughout the Florida Keys and the state of Florida, Roth has owned and operated Regan Insurance since 1999. Prior to that, he owned and operated Holiday Isle Watersports.

Roth is also highly involved in community organizations, having served as the chairperson for many non-profit boards. His board experience includes serving as the past president and current director of the Upper Keys Rotary Club; past assistant governor of Rotary District 6990; past president and current director of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce; regional board director for Centennial Bank; ten-year chairman of the Plantation Key School Advisory Council; and current president of the Islamorada Fishing Club.

Outside of work and community service, Roth enjoys freediving and spearfishing, motorcycling, boating, and time with family.

District 3: Islamorada

George Hertel

George Hertel was originally elected to FKEC’s Board in 2004 as a representative of District 3, Islamorada and he has since been re-elected in three year increments. Hertel is a Credentialed Cooperative Director, and has earned both his Board Leadership and Gold Director certification.

Hertel began his business in the Keys in 1981 when he and his wife Dorothy purchased the Islamorada Fish Company. In 2003, Hertel sold his interest in the business. Before their move to the Keys, Hertel was a builder/developer in Broward County.

Active in the community, Hertel is a founding board member of the Florida Keys History and Discovery Foundation, has served as President for the Upper Keys Rotary Club and is a past board member of the Islamorada Fishing Club.

Cale Smith • Treasurer

Cale Smith was appointed to FKEC’s Board in 2014 for District 3, Islamorada. In 2016, FKEC’s Board of Directors voted Smith to be Board Treasurer, where he continues to serve. He has been elected to the board by FKEC members in Islamorada in 2017 and 2020.

Smith moved to the Keys from Washington D.C. in 2005. He is the founder of Islamorada Investment Management (IIM), is an honors graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, earned his MBA from the College of William & Mary, and holds an executive certificate in financial planning from Georgetown.

In addition to his work, Smith is a director of Mariners Hospital and serves on the investment committee for Baptist Health South Florida.

Smith is a former president of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Upper Keys Rotary Club, a graduate of Leadership Monroe County, and a recipient of the Irving Eyster Award for outstanding volunteer service in Islamorada.

District 4: Marathon

Mike Puto • Vice President

Our longest-standing director, Mike Puto joined the board in 1993 to represent District 4, Marathon. He served as Secretary for 18 years before being elected to Vice President of the board in 2019. He is a Credentialed Cooperative Director and has earned both his Board Leadership Certificate and Director Gold Certificate.

In 2018, Puto was appointed to the 16th Judicial Nomination Commission by the Florida Governor.  He has also served his community as Marathon City Manager, county commissioner, and vice mayor and mayor of Monroe County.

Puto, who is the recipient of more than 50 community service awards, is a Certified Emergency Manager, involved with Fishermen’s Community Hospital, and is a long-standing member of the Marathon Rotary Club. His community service also includes proudly volunteering as a Take Stock in Children Mentor for over two decades, serving on the board of the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter as well as numerous other political, business, and cultural organizations.

Karl Wagner • President

Karl Wagner was originally elected to FKEC’s Board in 2004 to represent District 4, Marathon, and has since been re-elected in three-year increments. His fellow directors voted him Vice President in 2018 and President of the Board in 2019. Wagner is a Credentialed Cooperative Director, and holds his Board Leadership and Director Gold certificates.

Wagner has lived in the Keys for over 50 years and resides in Marathon with his wife Rachel. He has been a self-employed backcountry guide and a private boat captain since 1983. He also managed two family businesses and has his Associate’s Degree in accounting.

A firefighter for over three decades, Wagner is currently employed by the City of Key West.  Throughout his career, he has earned two Phoenix lifesaving awards. He is also past president of the Marathon Chapter of the Organized Fisherman of Florida, and founding director of Monroe County Commercial Fisherman.

 

FKEC’s four voting district areas are defined as:

District 1 — Key Largo
Area from the Monroe County line on US1 (The Stretch) and Ocean Reef on State Road 905 to mile marker 96 (including Mandalay Subdivision). 
District 2 — Tavernier
Area southwest of Mile Marker 96 to the northeast end of Snake Creek Bridge.
District 3 — Islamorada
Area from the southwest end of Snake Creek Bridge to the northeast end of Long Key Bridge.
District 4 — Marathon
Area from Long Key Bridge to northeast end of the Seven Mile Bridge.