Meet the Leadership Marco Class of 2025

Leadership Marco is a Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce program that teaches participants about the community through a series of mandatory full-day sessions that include the history of the island, its media outlets, law enforcement and the fire-rescue departments, the hospitality industry, economy, education, government (including transportation and infrastructure), agriculture, the environment and the city’s urgent care facilities. 

Activities began in late July and will conclude in November for the program, which began in 2001.  

Classes average ten to 12 participants, and a waiting list of people interested in taking part is the norm. Anyone who would like to join a future class should contact Donna Niemczyk at 239-250-3381 or at donna@marcoislandchamber.org. 

Kandy Sweeney is the CEO of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors (MIAAOR). She’s been a resident of Marco for 46 years.  

Sweeney began working for MIAAOR immediately after graduating from high school in 1983. She became the organization’s Interim CEO in August of 2018 and was hired as the official CEO in April of 2019. Over the years, Sweeney has received MIAAOR’s Unsung Hero award three times and the Special Presidents Award at least five times. 

Her list of civic, business, professional, and other organizational memberships is extensive. That roster includes: the Florida Society of Association Executives, the American Society of Association Executives, multiple committees for the Florida Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors, and the Certified Ally LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance.  

She has earned the Realtors Association Certified Executive Designation for her position, as well as certifications in other areas of the industry. 

Nancy Judd has been the gift shop manager at the Marco Island Historical Society Museum for the last eight years. She has lived in Collier County for 18 years, the last 17 near Marco Island. She moved to the area after residing in New Orleans for 25 years.  

Aside from being a licensed realtor, Judd has also worked in the jewelry industry for 40 years. Her experience in the business is broad-based. She’s worked in sales, along with being a “bench jeweler” – someone who repairs, restores, and creates jewelry pieces.  

Judd continues to be involved with designing and making jewelry. She has displayed her handiwork in juried art shows across southern Florida for four years, winning several awards along the way. 

Virgil Lindsey manages the First Foundation Bank branch on Marco. The Naples resident has worked in the banking industry for 24 years. When not at work, he enjoys fishing, volunteering, refereeing, and vacationing with his family.  

Lindsey is the former treasurer of the Greater Naples Officials Association, the former secretary of the Kiwanis Club Naples On-The-Gulf, past president of the Naples Bass Club, a former board member of the Trinity Life Foundation, and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Marco Island.  

Matt Marshall is the deputy chief of the Marco Island Fire-Rescue Department. He’s been with the department for a little more than three years. Prior to that, he was with the City of Cape Coral Fire Department for over 17 years. Marshall’s pursuit of a firefighting career began with volunteering when he was just 14 years old in his native New Jersey.  

A Naples resident for 20 years, he has an associate’s degree in business administration from the American Military University. 

His interests center on watching his two sons play baseball and swim for Aubrey Rogers High School, and spending time with his daughter, who attends North Naples Middle School. 

For the last 10 years, Marshall has been a volunteer coach for the North Naples Little League, as well as the Naples Cal Ripken youth baseball league. 

Suzanne Gibson is market chief nursing officer for the Physicians Regional Healthcare System. The Naples resident assumed that post one year ago after moving to this area from the East Coast. She previously spent 22 years with HCA Healthcare, working in a variety of leadership positions.  

Over the years, she’s been a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, in Atlantis, Florida; the Keiser University Advisory Board; Humane Society of Kingsland, Georgia; and the Palm Beach State College Advisory Board. She’s also the past chair of the March of Dimes March for Babies in St Lucie.  

Ben Ramsey is the owner of BCSA Properties, LLC, on Bald Eagle Drive. He has resided in Collier County for 12 years, the last two on Marco Island.  

He earned a B.A. in business administration-management from the University of Kentucky, as well as a law degree from Northern Kentucky University. Aside from working as an attorney, he’s also a general contractor and the owner of Ramsey Building Corp. and Ram Building in Naples, as well as a realtor for Imperial Reality in Naples. Ramsey is the proud father of two: South, age 14, and Autum, age 12.