Meet More of Leadership Marco’s Class of 2021

Leadership Marco, the Marco Island Chamber of Commerce program that teaches participants about Marco Island through a series of mandatory full-day sessions, will be entering media week in August, chaired by David Everitt and Cameron Woodward.  

The program lasts 10 weeks and commences with a graduation on January 21 at Bistro Soleil.

This week we profile four members of the Class of 2021.

Caitlin Benarroch is an administration coordinator at the Marco Island Historical Society. She works with Pat Rutledge, MIHS’s CEO. Benarroch assists in fundraising, programs and events and financial matters in the organization’s business office.  

“I’m a Marco native,” Benarroch said, “born and raised here, but just relocated back in September. I was gone for about nine years. So, I’m just trying to reimmerse myself back into Marco Island and network. I just want to reconnect with the community and get involved.”

Benarroch graduated from the University of Central Florida and worked with the Hyatt Hotels in Orlando before returning to her hometown.

Alisha Garcia Pacheco is the finance director for a local family-run business. She hopes to get a better knowledge of the island and the people who help the community.

“I hope to make lifelong friends out of this,” Garcia Pacheco said, "and be more involved and helpful to everybody.”

Michelle Richards is originally from Philadelphia but has lived on Marco Island for eight years. She is executive assistant for CAPIO Partners. She hopes to learn more about Marco Island through Leadership Marco.

“I hope to learn about the inner workings of all the different companies,” Richards said, “and not just companies - like the police department and the fire department, the hotels. Things I might not necessarily get to find out about if not for Leadership Marco.”

George Shoenberger is a recent retiree who worked for the University of Maryland. He was with three campuses in the University of Maryland system. He moved to Marco Island because his wife “found” Marco Island in 2012. He looks forward to learning more about the island.

The coming weeks will feature daylong dives into the island’s Culture and Real Estate, Law Enforcement, Healthcare and Economics, Education, Government, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Agriculture and Environment.