Tom Dowling
(863) 297-1051

GOVERNOR APPOINTS TWO TO PCC’S DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

08/10/2007: Gov. Charlie Crist has re-appointed Dr. Neriah Roberts to another four-year term on Polk Community College’s District Board of Trustees (DBOT). The governor also appointed Gregory Littleton, president and chief executive officer of Citizens Bank & Trust. He succeeds Carol Platt, who has served on the board for the past eight years.

Both will serve on the DBOT from Aug. 3, 2007 to May 31, 2011. The appointments require Florida Senate confirmation. That matter will be addressed by the Senate at their next meeting in March 2008. Until that vote they can begin serving immediately.

“I am extremely pleased with the appointments made by Governor Crist,” said PCC President Eileen Holden. “Dr. Roberts and Mr. Littleton are leaders in our community who will provide visionary, policy-level leadership for the college.”

Dr. Roberts is a retired Deputy Superintendent of Polk County Schools. He was recently elected Chair of the DBOT.

He lives in Lakeland and has been active in various civic groups. Dr. Roberts is the Director of the Association of School Based Administrators and also serves as an Educational Advisor for the Lakeland Housing Authority. In addition, he is a past director for Lakeland Regional Medical Center, United Way of Central Florida, Salvation Army, Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine, Youth for Christ, and Lakeland YMCA.

Littleton graduated from PCC in 1987. He went on to attend Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee and graduated in 1989 cum laude. He has been at Citizens Bank & Trust since 1997 and has been president since 2001. He serves on the board of the Lake Wales Arts Council, Florida School of Preaching, Florida Bank Pac, Government Relations Council for the Florida Bankers Association, PCC’s Workforce Education Council, the Polk Vision Steering Committee, and on the executive board of the Economic Development Foundation, which he chairs.

He is the Past President of the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce, East Polk Committee of 100 and Central Florida Development Committee. Littleton and his wife, Julie, live in Winter Haven with their two daughters, Currie Ann and Anna Beth.

Dr. Holden had high praise for outgoing Trustee Carol Platt. “Mrs. Platt has been an exemplary trustee for PCC,” said Dr. Holden. “Since 1999, She has spent numerous hours serving this college on the District Board, as PCC’s Board representative on various state committees, and as an ambassador for the college at various community functions. I hope to continue to work closely with Carol on higher education issues that affect our county,” the president said.

The seven-member DBOT are vested with decision making power in all matters of college policy, programs, building, budget and personnel. They serve without compensation.