MEET BRYAN
New Leadership Delivering Results for North Brevard County
Bryan is a go-getter
In his 20s, after serving a tour of duty in the US Army National Guard, Bryan started work in a hotel laundry room and in a year’s time was promoted three times to become general manager of a Titusville hotel and soon after was training managers of several Choice and IHG properties on Florida’s west coast. In his 30s, Bryan started as event and volunteer coordinator for Keep Brevard Beautiful and was promoted to to deputy executive director, then executive director. In 2023, he resigned from KBB to run for Brevard County Commission. Now 40, Bryan is ready to use his innovative approaches, team-building skills and responsiveness to serve the people of North Brevard.
Bryan is a communicator
Bryan told national audiences on CNN, Fox News, the Weather Channel and the Associated Press about local innovations: a beach robot that helped KBB promote beach cleanups along State Road 528 and strategies local nonprofits and agencies were trying to deal with the 2016 fish kill and the impact of the 2018 red tide. Locally, LEAD Brevard selected Bryan for the 4 Under 40 award in 2020 after nominating him for that award in both 2016 and 2017. Keep America Beautiful recognized his work with a nationwide Innovation Award in 2020, 2021, 2022. And Keep Florida Beautiful bestowed on Bryan the Indian River Champion Award in 2017 and the A1 Since Day 1 Award in 2022. As your county commissioner, Bryan will continue to stand strong for the Indian River Lagoon, to lobby for state and national funds, to insist existing environmental regulations are enforced, and to establish and spur on local protection of our valuable lagoons, the St. Johns River and other waterways.
Bryan is a family man who understands the struggles of working families
Bryan grew up in Titusville, attending both Titusville and Astronaut high schools. After a tour in the military, he returned to Titusville, where, following death of his grandmother, he became the primary caretaker for his grandfather Ike Bobbitt as Alzheimer’s disease debilitated the former engineer and business owner. At age 30, Bryan again became a primary caretaker when his young wife Lisa was diagnosed with brain cancer. Bryan stayed home with 18-month-old Landen while Lisa underwent successful treatment at Shands Hospital, Gainesville, as an uninsured patient. Later, Bryan, new to his job at KBB, worked with the small nonprofit to set up an insurance program for employees. Today, Bryan, Lisa and Landen live in north Titusville, near his mother Amy Lester, who recently retired as a certified nursing assistant for hospice. The family enjoys fishing, camping, golfing and hunting when Bryan can take a break from the two jobs he took to support the family while running for Brevard County Commission. Bryan understands the struggles of starting a small business (he and Lisa s started two, a successful fishing magazine “Shallow Addiction” they sold after two years, and a food truck the family operated through the heat of summer 2023).
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Bryan is a civic-minded volunteer
In August 2019, Bryan organized Brevard County’s response when category 5 Hurricane Dorian hit Puerto Rico. A Facebook post on Wednesday snowballed into a countywide effort that on Sunday delivered 91,000 pounds of hurricane supplies to the devastated island. The KBB effort, led by Bryan, involved United Way, the local SPCA and Humane Society, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, trucking companies, pilots, and the local Chambers of Commerce. Hundred of volunteers came together at eight collection points and filled a semi-truck. A volunteer pilot delivered the supplies to the island. Bryan served on the Litter Cooperative that reports directly to the White House on climate change issues and volunteered with the Brevard Sustainability Board. He was on the Titusville Environmental Commission during the year it was writing a tree ordinance and was its liaison to the Titusville Planning and Zoning Commission. He served as vice chair of the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce and chaired its Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee. As a member of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, he chaired a Salsa Fest. And he is a past president of the maritime group The Propeller Club of Port Canaveral.
Bryan is an innovator
Keep America Beautiful recognized Bryan for creating the Summer Series program that recruited and relied on 70 to 100 volunteers who removed five tons of trash each summer. Following a massive fish kill in the lagoon in 2016, Bryan helped launch the Lagoon Friendly Lawn Program – a program that relied on coordination among cities, the county, the Brevard Environmentally Endangered Lands Program and the Florida IFAS Agricultural Center. “To keep nutrients out of the lagoon, we encouraged homeowners not to fertilize lawns, to use native landscaping and to pick up grass clippings.” Bryan obtained a Tourism Development grant to fund weekly litter cleanup along State 528 and helped KBB contract with Port Canaveral on cleanup projects. When Covid disrupted education, Bryan worked with the county Solid Waste Division to create a studio in the KBB office that broadcast educational programs for fourth- and fifth graders about how recycling works. In 2023 Bryan resigned from KBB to run for Brevard County Commissioner in District 1 so he can continue to work on solutions to complex problems.