Around Town | Jon Thaxton

By Tom Reese | Photos by Nancy Guth

He’s a fifth generation Sarasotan, a former County Commissioner, and Senior Vice President for Community Leadership at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. While his accomplishments are plentiful and important, it is Jon Thaxton’s environmental advocacy and love of nature that has been the important driver in his life. If he is not raising awareness for the betterment of our region, you can find him outdoors enjoying life as it was meant to be lived.

Growing up on a farm near Osprey, you learned at a young age to hunt, fish, and explore. What was Sarasota County like then?

I grew up on a chicken farm at what is now Roessler’s Restaurant. I was able to walk out my back door and immediately start hunting quail and doves. When I was about 14 years of age, my mother taught me the proper use of firearms, including gun safety. She would not let us have a BB gun. She thought they were dangerous because kids treated them as toys, and she felt that firearms should be treated as tools. So, she gave me a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun for Christmas and taught me how to use it correctly. At the time Palmer Ranch was still a functioning cattle ranch, full of wildlife and game – deer, hog, turkey, and albeit rare, the Florida panther. Osprey and Vamo were commercial fishing villages. The adjacent bays were so healthy that large schools of fish would cast shadows that looked like huge black clouds covering acres of the bay’s surface. I remember as a boy exploring the wilds of Palmer Ranch and first discovering the railroad tracks. It was magical! From that day to today, the dream of having a trail on those railroad tracks has never left me. But I can’t take credit for starting the Legacy Trail movement; that credit goes to Bruce Dillon. I went to Osprey Elementary School, now the county’s Osprey Library. There were 12 children in my graduating sixth grade class. When I moved onto Venice junior and senior high schools, I also graduated to becoming a juvenile delinquent. I was arrested four times, spending two nights in the Venice jail and one night in the Polk County jail. I bring this up only because things are so different now. A young person today with an arrest record like mine would likely not become successful, better yet a county commissioner. I got a third, fourth and fifth chance. Today kids are lucky to get a second chance. In so many ways, Sarasota is very different today, some good, and some not so good.

Many may not know that you were involved with the addition to Oscar Scherer State Park and that you were involved with the public preservation of about one-third of Sarasota County’s native lands. Please tell us more.

The Oscar Scherer State Park addition happened in 1990, ten years before I became a county commissioner. I championed the campaign to add 1,200 acres to the existing 460-acre state park. The owner of the addition at the time was Hugh Culverhouse Sr., owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was the state’s first Florida Forever land acquisition. So, there was much fanfare with legislators, environmentalists, and local leaders attending the ribbon cutting. Actually, we cut a strand of barbed wire, not a ribbon.  It’s important to recognize that having a third of the county preserved resulted from a multi-generational effort. Beginning early in its history, Sarasotans have recognized the valuable and irreplaceable nature of Sarasota’s wildlands. Individuals like Bertha Palmer and subsequent cattle ranching families including the Carltons and Longinos pioneered the land conservation effort long before my generation. Seeing the ever-diminishing natural areas of Sarasota County, Jono Miller and I could see that within our lifetimes every parcel of land in Sarasota would be destined for either development or for preservation. And we knew that a funding source adequate to preserve enough land to preserve sustainable wildlife populations did not exist. So, we proposed asking voters to approve dedicating a portion of their property taxes to purchase environmentally sensitive lands. Overwhelmingly the voters agreed and have supported this critical cause time and again. Our fifth environmental lands referendum will be on the ballot in 2026.  It’s because of this multi-generational effort and voters agreeing to tax themselves that one-third of the county is preserved for future generations to enjoy.  Is a third enough? I think if you ask Sarasotans whether they would prefer to see more open space and conservation lands or more development, the vast majority will choose conservation.

You joined Gulf Coast Community Foundation (GCCF) in 2012 and are currently Senior Vice President of Community Leadership. What are your duties and responsibilities?

The operative word is ‘currently,’ because I will be changing positions in March of 2025. Currently, I create and implement Gulf Coast’s key strategies for transforming our nonprofit community while providing leadership on emerging issues. That’s a fancy way to say I oversee grants and initiative funding. In the spring of 2025, I will be demoting myself from VP to a director’s role where I will focus on public policy and advocacy.

What are the most significant areas of impact GCCF has made on our region?

The first thing I would note is that all the areas of significant impact that Gulf Coast has had on our region happened because of strong partnerships with government, not-for-profit agencies, and donors. We accomplish nothing without them. The initiatives I am most proud of include our work with All Faiths Food Bank to improve the distribution of nutritious food and working with the Sarasota County School District to expand the free and reduced lunch summertime feeding program. I stress “nutritious” because when we first started the focus was on measuring food distribution success in calories, including foods with high salt, sugar, and fat. Our goal was to move to meat proteins, dairy products, and fresh vegetables. Another initiative I’m proud of is the creation of a comprehensive and coordinated network of homeless services. When we first reviewed homeless services, especially those dealing with children and families, there was a noticeable disconnect. At one meeting, a Gulf Coast donor offered a blank check to any agency that could help get a family that was sleeping in a van at a Walmart into a hotel room—no one would take the check. We knew we had a problem. Now All Faiths Food Bank is a model food bank in the Feeding America national network, and our homeless services network has seen double digit decreases in chronic homelessness for the last four consecutive years. I am also proud of Jennifer Johnston, Gulf Coast’s Director of Community Leadership, for providing leadership and data resources necessary to reform mental health and substance abuse services in Sarasota County. Affordable housing is a current Gulf Coast initiative where we’re partnering with other local foundations to advocate for the best practice recommendations adopted by the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and offering data to better inform public policy decisions.

There’s one more notable addition—The Bay. Public parks are a multi-generational endeavor and their benefits are evergreen. Being on the ground floor with Virginia Haley and Michael Klauber to create what will be one of the most iconic parks in the state of Florida is truly a distinction I am honored to have and to share.

How has GCCF defined the immediate and future needs of our region and what is the plan to meet these needs?

Every couple of years, we contract with an outside firm to prepare a Regional Scan. The scan is developed with input from community leaders, donors, governments, and non-profit agencies. With the empirical data and the anecdotal input from this broad representation of local subject matter experts, we’re able to define or estimate future needs. But we must remain adaptable to respond to unforeseen needs such as severe economic downturns, COVID-19, hurricanes, and red tide.

Is there a particular person that has inspired you personally in your life, and is there someone who has inspired you professionally?

I will break these into three different thoughts: 

Historically. Alexander von Humboldt. He is the father of so many of the natural sciences and generations ahead of his time. Reading about his adventures, studies, and observations is inspirational every time I read and reread them.

Early life. As a youth, I could not stay out of trouble. I dropped out of high school twice for very short periods of time but fortunately returned and graduated on time. My high school biology teacher, Bill Wimbish, was a hunter, outdoorsman and taxidermist. In my junior year, I brought Mr. Wimbish a copy of the proposed I-75 route through Sarasota County. As planned, it would destroy significant wetlands and areas I knew to be rich in wildlife. Mr. Wimbish convinced me to write a letter to the Department of Transportation proposing a more ecologically responsible alignment.  Using magic markers and crayons, I depicted an I-75 route that would avoid the sensitive areas. My efforts were ignored, a complete failure. But I had my first taste of public policy and had discovered a new, legal, and productive way to create mischief. I’m now 67 years old, and I haven’t stopped these teacher-inspired provocative efforts since. 

Contemporary.  One of my continuing sources of inspiration is Jono Miller. I am inspired by his amazing intellect and creativity, neither of which I possess to any notable degree and since Jono has more than he needs, I take advantage of our friendship and plagiarize his talents often.  He doesn’t seem to mind.

I understand you’re a big fan of The Andy Griffith Show and have an incredible collection of memorabilia. When did this passion start and when did you begin collecting?

I have been a fan of The Andy Griffith Show as long as I can remember. As a young boy I identified with Opie, his slingshot, his bicycle, his shyness around girls, and his inability to dance.  But also, his love for fishing and exploring the outdoors. There’s 249 episodes and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched them all. I watch them in sequence from the pilot to the final episode and then I start over and do it again and again. I started collecting about 10 or 15 years ago and now have one of the largest collections second only to the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, North Carolina. I only display the collection up every 2 to 3 years as it takes a month to put it up and another month to take it down. When it’s up, my entire house is converted into an Andy Griffith museum from Thanksgiving to New Years. Once people see it, they never look at me the same way again.

Tell us about the sportsman Jon Thaxton today and what are some of your favorite outdoor adventures?

Because of multiple retina detachments, my turkey and quail hunting days are over, mostly, so I spend as much time as I can fishing. Additionally, a lifelong hobby that ironically started with me killing birds, is birding. My vacations prioritize locations that have the highest likelihood of seeing bird species to add to my “life list.” Most people don’t think of birdwatching as an outdoor adventure, but they would if they came with me. It’s physical, strenuous, adventurous, and an outdoor activity that I will enjoy as long as I am able.

What are some of your most memorable vacations outside of Florida?

My most recent memorable vacation outside of Florida was birding in Oaxaca, Mexico. I was able to add over 100 new bird species to my life list. My favorite cultural trip was to Iceland. I had no concept of Icelandic culture, its geology, or lifestyles where it’s dark for months at a time and then daylight months at a time. It was a complete cultural shock, but I enjoyed it immensely. In terms of food and wine, Italy is hard to beat. The Italian wines, even a restaurant’s red table wines are phenomenal. The food is fresh, locally sourced, and you can taste the terroir in the food as well as the wine. Finally, memorable in terms of people, that would have to be Cuba. Cubans are beautiful in so many ways. They are rich in heritage and their music and arts are second to none. The Cuban people are hungering for democracy. Given the right economic environment, Cuba would become a democracy and a strong ally of the United States of America.

For more information about Gulf Coast Community Foundation, please visit www.gulfcoastcf.org.