GMCA Directors

The Galt Mile Community Association is administered by a Board of Directors, an Advisory Board, and the Presidents Council (an assembly of a the Presidents of each member Association). The Board of Directors is depicted and briefly biographied in this section. The members of the Advisory Board are subsequently chronicled in conjunction with their contact data.

OUR BEACHSIDE BACKYARD

President and Chairman, Presidents Council - Pio Ieraci

PIO IERACI

Pio Ieraci is a unique blend of businessman, family man, diplomat, and village shaman. In addition to the panoply of responsibilities he faces as President of the Galt Mile Community Association, he administers the high powered Presidents Council. The current President of every member Association participates in a forum created to examine the impending obstacles that confront their Associations, exchange information useful in that regard, and formulate strategies to effectively provide relief. Pio Ieraci is the catalyst that allows this mixture of strong-willed individuals to achieve the levels of cooperation necessary to effectively identify and contend with the common problems while concurrently attending to the particular concerns of individual Associations. A Board member of the Galt Ocean Club, Pio is able to diagnose complex technical, civic, political, and financial conundra and encourage agreement on their resolution. It is not uncommon for the most exasperating challenges, once identified as such by members of the Council, to be placed on Pio’s typically full plate!

Office Phone: (954) 489-9430

E-mail: PioR@bellsouth.net

Vice President - Director - Eric Peter Berkowitz

ERIC PETER BERKOWITZ

Having lived in both Ocean Manor and Southpoint before serving on the Regency Tower Board of Directors, Eric Peter Berkowitz developed a unique perspective of the Galt Mile. Eric created and serves as “webmaster” of the Galt Mile Community Association web site, one of largest and most comprehensive in South Florida. As editor of the “Galt Mile News”, the Association’s newsletter, he keeps community residents and neighborhood merchants informed about issues critical to their rights, homes and lifestyles. A prolific writer, Eric relates Association policy as formulated by the Board, the Advisory Board and concerned residents. Always active, Eric’s organizational skills were critical to Fort Lauderdale's inclusion in the beach renourishment project, the installation of Automated External Defibrillators throughout the neighborhood, the successful promotion of practical fire safety regulations and myriad other challenges. Eric also serves as the community’s eyes and ears, alerting the neighborhood to positive and negative political impacts emanating from Fort Lauderdale’s City Hall, Broward County HQ, Tallahassee and Washington DC. Accumen accrued as Regency Tower’s Construction Chair has positioned Eric to assist with the Galt Mile’s structural rebirth.

Office Phone: (954) 566-8606, Home Phone: (954) 564-4427

E-mail: editor@galtmile.com

Treasurer - Director - Leah Glickfield

LEAH GLICKFIELD

Leah Glickfield controls the Association’s finances. Our southern belle, while capable of dulcifying sweetness, is sharp as a tack. She is the Assistant Editor of the newsletter and the assistant administrator of the GMCA’s web site. “Assist” is the operating buzzword necessary to describe Leah, as her propensity for involvement renders her indispensible to this organization. When an idea develops in any component of the Galt Mile Community Association, it has to make a pit stop at Leah Glickfield’s door to determine if resources are available for its possible fruition. Consequently, Leah’s fiscal footprint is on the majority of positive steps taken by the Association. At Advisory Board meetings, Leah records every quixotic promise made by some politicians, every questionable assertion made by local business people that their services are indispensable and the often equally inane remarks made in response. Somehow, she manages to impart credibility and perspective in her summary minutes. Regency South has long benefitted from Leah’s participation in the affairs of her home’s Association...as have we all!

Office Phone: (954) 564-8554, Home Phone: (954) 563-1001

Director - Rose Guttman

ROSE GUTTMAN

As the inscrutable past President of the Ocean Club Condominium (formerly the Atlantic Ocean Club Condominium), she helped steer her building into the new millenium. As a Director of the Galt Mile Community Association, she’s striving to tote the rest of the neighborhood with it! Of necessity, Rose has developed expertise in a wide variety of Condominium services, the least of which being construction. Her pioneering spirit again revealed itself in utilizing cathodic protection, a cutting edge technology, as component to the rehabilitation of the Ocean Club. Rose was one of the prime exponents of the successful effort to put a “Smile on the Mile”. The Galt Mile Improvement Project was actualized in large part as a result of her relentless dedication. The irrepressible Ms. Guttman says what she thinks - always. The Association has benefitted greatly from her fearless disposition...because she is usually right!

Home Phone: (954) 563-6679

Director - James Gill

JAMES GILL

The development of a neighborhood is accomplished through a series of well planned projects, the success of each dependent upon the accumen accrued from its predecessor. A patriarch of Plaza South, James Gill’s first-hand familiarty with Harry Wood, Nathan Fragan, and the other Galt Mile “Founding Fathers” has given the Association the historical wherewithal necessary to meet today’s challenges. James Gill was present at the inception of the Association, helped nurse it through its most difficult ordeals, and continues to be one of the main engines of the organization. Jim never misses an opportunity to cross examine questionable statements made at Association meetings, a trait which serves to broker an “honest” meeting. Neighborhood Associations often encounter self-imposed obstacles to their progress by (presumably unintentionally) repeating previously committed errors in judgement and/or timing. James Gill’s archival experience is The Galt Mile Community Association’s insurance policy against falling victim to this pernicious syndrome!

Office Phone: (954) 565-0770, Home Phone: (954) 564-1089

Director - Ralph Hamaker

RALPH HAMAKER

Hailing from Coral Ridge Towers South, Ralph Hamaker is the sole representative to the Board of Directors from a Cooperative. A past President of CRT South, Ralph is familiar with issues that impact our four members from the Coral Ridge Towers Complex in the western sector of the Galt Mile Community. Ralph’s contributions to improving the Galt Mile area are legion, including noise abatement, traffic control and beach renourishment. Intimately involved with the rebirth of the Galt Ocean Village Shoppes area, Ralph was instrumental in attracting the Beach Community Center and Il Lugano, two community lynchpins critical for the neighborhood’s stability. Coral Ridge Towers, built just prior to to Condo Act of 1963, was the first hi-rise cooperative financed by the FHA to have a swimming pool. The Coral Ridge Towers (CRT) complex, later expanded to include the North, South (Ralph’s home), and East buildings, was a blueprint for developers prospecting for amenities to include in their offerings. The CRT Complex (four Cooperatives) could not have found a more effective pro-active representative than Mr. Ralph Hamaker.

Office Phone: (954) 563-6467, Home Phone: (954) 568-4146

E-mail: Ralph2FLA@aol.com

Director - Kevin Songer

KEVIN SONGER

Kevin has the unique distinction of having participated in two GMCA member associations. He is a longtime resident of Galt Towers (since 1994) and a member of the Galt Merchants Association. While his St. Lawrence Gallery on A1A has become a Galt Mile success story, it also represents an additional investment in the neighborhood's future. Kevin was first elected to the Galt Towers Board of Directors in 2000 and currently serves as their Financial Secretary. Kevin spent years in the trenches of the GMCA Advisory Board. Often espousing minority positions on elective objectives, Kevin's heartfelt opposition viewpoints guarantee that issues are fully vetted and fellow resident-members are roundly informed before committing themselves. Despite the rigors inherent in nursing a retail business and dealing with the fiscal exigencies proponent to his association responsibilities, Kevin religiously contributes to the resolution of neighborhood problems. Kevin has a demonstrated ability to develop whatever expertise is necessary to evaluate a situation. While Kevin's experience and commitment adequately justify his participation in the Galt Mile Community Association Board of Directors, his secret weapons are his enthusiasm and flexibility.

Office Phone: (954) 563-7268, Home Phone: (954) 566-3882

E-mail: stgallery@bellsouth.net

Secretary - Fern McBride

FERN MCBRIDE

A veteran of the Public School system, Fern is blessed with a proclivity for organization and excellent communication skills. Somehow, our soft spoken former educator has been able to quietly compile the fast paced Advisory Board activities into a coherent set of minutes every month. Fern’s organizational abilities were first recognized by her neighbors in Regency Tower, where she participates in several committees and serves on the Board of Directors - not suprisingly as Secretary! Her low-key demeanor and quiet charm disguise a tenacious commitment to improving our homes and our neighborhood. In addition to making consistent contributions at countless Advisory Board and Presidents Council meetings, Fern has traveled to Tallahassee to fight for the rights of condo owners. When the Broward Beach Renourishment project was being considered by the Florida Cabinet, Fern participated in a successful demonstration by a contingent of Galt Mile homeowners supporting the project. The usual format of assigning the executive responsibilities of Secretary to a director were set aside to take advantage of Fern’s superior secretarial competance.

Office Phone: (954) 566-8606, Home Phone: (954) 561-2965

E-mail: fmcbride19@bellsouth.net

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Board Member	Association	Office# Area Code 954	Home# Area Code 954
Lorraine Alfano	L'Hermitage II	375-3900	375-3950
Ismet Baker	Plaza East	563-5616	567-0323
Charles Baldwin	Plaza South	565-0777	***
Franci Bindler	Ocean Riviera	537-4700	563-6444
Dott Nicholson-Brown	Regency Tower	566-8606	565-4879
Robert Cameron	Edgewater Arms	566-8585	678-6516
Francis Casier	Coral Ridge Towers	565-2731	563-3220
Dr. James Comis	Ocean Summit	565-6696	568-2324
Dr. Robert Drews	Caribé	776-4190	776-1496
Kathleen Freismuth	Regency South	564-8554	566-5628
Richard Gabrielle	Southpoint	563-6353	563-4945
Ed Harwood	Galleon	563-2497	564-7174
Warren Hurley	Plaza South	565-0770	561-1531
Marlene Katkin	Fountainhead	776-0732	202-0221
Frances Konstance	L'Hermitage I	375-3100	563-0655
Herbert Kwart	Galt Towers	563-7268	***
Daniel Lecht	Playa del Mar	561-0990	563-3132
Dr. Alex Leeds	L'Hermitage II	568-6789	565-6916
Dr. Gwilym S. Lodwick	Playa del Mar	561-0990	565-1824
George Mayer	Commodore	565-0686	561-4893
Fern McBride	Regency Tower	566-8606	561-2965
Jean Miller	L'Hermitage I	375-3100	567-1290
Sam Montross	Edgewater Arms	566-8585	448-2541
Richard Solewin	Playa del Mar	561-0990	537-1306
Huey Vanek	L'Hermitage I	375-3100	565-5671