The mission of Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. (KLCB) is to inspire, educate, and engage the Lee County community in improving, beautifying, and protecting our environment. KLCB announces a new member to the Board of Directors, as well as the full slate of officers and board members for the year 2023-2024.

Joining the KLCB board is Katherine Kallas.

“I cannot be happier to welcome Katherine to our growing board of directors. Her long career in the waste management sector brings with it practical experience and organizational wisdom making her a valuable addition to Keep Lee County Beautiful,” Trish Fancher, executive director.

Kallas is the recycling coordinator for Lee County Solid Waste. With more than 19 years’ experience at LCSW, her responsibilities include compiling all the data for the annual state report that shows how much recycling is done in Lee County. She is also part of the team educating residents about the county’s recycling program and solid waste system. Kallas was born in Fort Myers and has lived here most of her life except for a 15-year stretch that she lived in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area with her husband and son.

The Keep Lee County Beautiful slate of board members for 2023-2024 include:

Chair Andrew Santos, T3 Communications

Santos currently works at T3 Communications providing businesses with technology support. He earned his degree in History from William Paterson College, and moved to Fort Myers with his wife Megin and daughter Isabella from New York in 2005. Shortly after, his son Antonio was born at Gulf Coast Hospital. Santos has spent many hours coaching local little league baseball and soccer teams. He has also participated in multiple marathons and triathlons. Santos loves living in Southwest Florida in a place he calls paradise with amazing friends and always something fun and exciting to do. He feels being a part of the Keep Lee County Beautiful team is a perfect fit. He has always been against littering and he and his wife can be seen picking up trash on their daily walks with the dog.

Vice Chair Todd Hoagland, City of Cape Coral

Hoagland is currently a Code Compliance Division Manager with the City of Cape Coral. Prior to his career in code enforcement in 2015, he retired after 25 years in law enforcement in New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University in 2001 and Master of Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University. As an instructor for the Florida Institute of Government, he instructs on aspects of the Fundamentals of Code Enforcement, Administrative Aspects and Officer Safety. Hoagland is currently the President of the South West Association of Code Enforcement, an active member of the Florida Association of Code Enforcement membership and education committees, and a member of the Board of Directors for Keep Lee County Beautiful. He resides in Cape Coral with his wife and three children who all enjoy volunteering for KLCB.

Treasurer Ron Kitlas, Famular, LLC.

Kitlas brings 30+ years global business experience in public, private equity and family owned businesses. During that time he had 15+ years’ experience in the C-suite as an HR Leader for Division Presidents and Functional Business Leaders. He is a well-rounded executive with experience in B2B and B2C selling models across technology, consumer products, intermediary supply, professional and retail service industries. Kitlas graduated from the University of Detroit and the Michigan State University School of Law. He is certified as a green belt in Six Sigma / Process Excellence and earned an International Coaching Federation (ICF) professional certificate in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance. He has earned the Professional Coaching Certification from ICF and is the author of Leading and Influencing a primer for the newly appointed manager. Kitlas has served on numerous community and civic organizations including Keep Lee County Beautiful, American Red Cross and the West 57th Street Hilton Owners Association. Kitlas resides in Fort Myers with his wife Laura.

Secretary Melissa Kruse, Passarella & Associates

Kruse is a native Floridian who has called beautiful Lee County home since 2003. She joined Passarella & Associates, Inc., an ecological consulting firm, in 2004 where she is the Marketing Director. Melissa earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University and a Master of Arts degree in Marketing Communication from the University of Denver. She has a serious sweet tooth, loves FSU football, pugs, photography, graphic design, watching wood storks and roseate spoonbills from her backyard on the Caloosahatchee, and spending time with her husband and three children. Kruse volunteers with the United Way on an Allocations Team and joined the Keep Lee County Beautiful Board of Directors in 2020. She is honored to have been selected as the incoming Secretary.

Past Chair Molly Schweers, Lee County Solid Waste

Chairman Emeritus Keith Banasiak, Waste Pro

Larry Berg, WM

Katie Berkey, Becker Lawyers

Chrissy Busch, Coastal Waste & Recycling

Mark Campbell, City of Fort Myers

Dee Dashiell, Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation

Jay Fandel, Boston Red Sox

Rodney Ford, Coca-Cola Florida

Debi Greenfield, Greenfield Marketing

Katherine Kallas, Lee County Solid Waste

Jacki Liszak, Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce

Chip McElroy, Hodges University

Katie Moses, Lovers Key State Park

Advisory Board

Sergeant Michael Truscott

Keep Lee County Beautiful is incredibly fortunate to have such great partnerships with our local community leaders and businesses as well as a strong volunteer base. KLCB thanks you and appreciates your commitment, and looks forward to continuing to serve the county as we work together to make Lee County that paradise it is.

About Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc.

Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc., established in 1989, is the county’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This local nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

For more information, call 239-334-3488 or visit www.klcb.org.

Follow on Facebook @KLCBInc or Instagram @keepleecountybeautifulfl.