Charlie Gressman BOCC Campaign
Press Release
October 10, 2019
Recently, Charlie Gressman completed his candidate application and filed with the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections to begin his campaign for Nassau County Commissioner District 5. This position requires steady, balanced leadership in order to meet the challenges of the 2020s.
Charlie is a lifelong resident of Nassau County. He grew up on his family’s farm in Callahan, started a business here, raised a family on the same land he grew up on, and has been dedicated to the betterment of our county his entire adult life.
While working on the family farm, Charlie developed a strong work ethic. As a young man, Charlie would answer his nation’s call to serve in the US Army Reserves, serving six years as a medic.
Traits like hard work, selfless service, in addition to the discipline required to plan for the future, laid the foundation for running a successful business of his own. The experience of being an entrepreneur has given Charlie the skills that will be beneficial in guiding our county government efficiently and cost-effectively.
More recently, Charlie’s professional experience working for a large corporation has drawn upon a lifetime of relationship-building, planning, and carrying out tasks to meet even the most complicated and demanding project requirements.
For years, Charlie has volunteered his time to organizations like the Nassau County Farm Bureau, the Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer & Rancher State Committees, the Southeast Milk Producers, and has served as Pop Warner commissioner and little league coach. Charlie also serves as a deacon at Callahan First Baptist Church and has participated in numerous disaster relief programs and ministry-based initiatives both domestically and abroad.
In addition to decades of professional and volunteer experience, Charlie currently serves on Nassau County’s Planning & Zoning Board, where he takes an active role in organizing and developing infrastructure projects that will help shape the future of Nassau County in a planned, managed way.
Even while building an impressive professional career, Charlie has always put his family first. He has been married 47 years to Linda Schwend Gressman. They have two sons and daughters-in- law, Caleb and Hillary Gressman & Grant and Leslie Gressman. Charlie and Linda are also the proud grandparents of five amazing children: Riley, Rowan, Hallie, Reese, and Colton.
Charlie is running for Nassau County Commissioner District 5 because of his commitment to doing what he can to ensure a more prosperous future for everyone. Across our county, we see growth and Charlie understands that smart, planned growth is needed to create and sustain a strong local economy…where people can live, work, and play.
This plan requires that our tax base be diversified. For too long, our county has relied on residential rooftops to be the primary source of tax revenues. Nassau County leadership must act now by attracting more business and industry to spread the tax burden, increase the county’s access to critical services, amenities, and to keep our residential property taxes low.
“I’m running for my family… my kids and grandkids. I want them to have every opportunity to build a good life here in Nassau County. They should be able to work here, live here and be able to enjoy life without having to leave the county, if they wish,” Charlie says, “At the same time, I think we need to be smart about how we grow. We have to be able to look forward and see the potential impacts of decisions we make today…because if we don’t, we wind up reacting to needs instead of planning solutions…and our quality of life suffers.”
Charlie’s common-sense plan is to increase transparency in planning & zoning, consistently communicate plans with the public and increase public participation, collaborate with stakeholders throughout the county to develop smart, controlled growth projects while protecting individual property rights, create more jobs based here at home so more money stays in the county, and diversify the tax base.
A lifetime of developing relationships with the people of Nassau County, a strong business background, an unwavering commitment to selfless service, and a common-sense approach to problem solving all make Charlie Gressman the right choice to serve as Nassau County Commissioner, District 5.
To learn more about Charlie Gressman and his campaign, visit www.CharlieGressman.com or call Charlie at 904-521-7733.