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Working for The People...
After 30 years of service, Cheri Coryea takes over as acting Administrator
WORDS: Bre Jones Mulock
PICTURES: Wendy Dewhurst
With hearts fluttering to a drumbeat of exciting new
beginnings and every item they owned, including a dog
and a cat, jam-packed in their car, Cheri Coryea and
her husband motored from Huntsville, Alabama, to Bradenton in
1989 and soared over the Sunshine Skyway for the very first time.
Golden sunrays illuminated their welcoming path and sparkled
like diamonds in the water. Coryea looked to her right and caught
a view mimicking iconic Florida postcards: dolphins leaping and
playing in the rolling waves.
“I thought, oh my, I’m going to live here?” said Coryea with her
brown eyes widening as if experiencing the sight for the first
time again. “I was so taken aback at this sight. It was amazing.”
Coryea, an Indiana native, may have fallen madly in love with
her new community at first sight, but her community also fell
in love with her. After 30 years of working for Manatee County,
including 28 in management, and a career blooming with
stunning accolades, Coryea carved out a new role March 1 when
County Commissioners unanimously confirmed her as acting
County Administrator to the thunder of two standing ovations.
Recalling that monumental moment, emotion and tears pooled
in her eyes.
“I was scared, emboldened, proud,” said Coryea, who has
served as Deputy County Administrator since 2017. “I didn’t
want to let anyone down because we’re all in this together. The
encouragement from everyone is driving me forward. I can’t
imagine being new to this community and this position. I know
these people. I know what to expect and what not to expect,
which is important in a county growing so rapidly.”
Overwhelming support, including from Ed Hunzeker who retired
as County Administer in February, has shined a beacon of light
on Coryea, who serves as the second female in this position.
“I couldn’t be happier with the decision,” Hunzeker said in a
county statement. “She has witnessed how we managed the
county, and she will manage with her style… and keep things
moving. There will be a seamless transition and we’ve worked
diligently to make it happen.”
After the applause quieted at the Commission meeting in
February, Coryea reached back out with supportive words to
the board. “(Commissioners) have a tough job to do with difficult
Cheri with Karen Stewart (Acting Deputy County Administrator)
and John Osborne (Deputy County Administrator)
decisions to make every day for the 388,000 who live here,”
Coryea said. “I’m here to make the leadership transition the
easiest part you have to do and to move things forward. I’m here
to earn the respect and trust of this board and this community.”
Each morning, Coryea drives into work from Parrish to hit the
ground running. While her office boasts family pictures, a white
orchid blooming in the sill of picturesque windows that coax
the Manatee River inside, a unicorn mug filled with pens and a
tempting bowl of chocolates on a desk, Coryea isn’t in there for
long. You’ll often find her buzzing around the county building
-laptop in hand - dashing from executive meetings and overseeing
operations to leveling hot button items and listening to constituents.
“I’m results driven – that’s my goal and has been for many years,”
said Coryea who received the 2012 Tampa Bay Business Journal
Business Woman of the Year (government category) award.
“When you work for the people, you want to do a good job.”
Rolling into Bradenton for that first time in 1989, Coryea and her
husband rented a room at the Park Inn while hunting for a home.
The charm of the county and smiling, welcoming people, lured the
young couple to nourish roots here and never leave. In those initial