All Play - No Work 2011

Brown and Eslick Honored with ECCL Awards

ESTERO, FL – The Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL) today awarded Bill Brown with the ECCL’s 2011 Village Visionary Award and Don Eslick with the ECCL’s first Estero Visionary of the Decade Award.

Bill Brown moved to Estero with his wife Dottie in 1998.  Having served 10 years as President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, it was a natural fit for him to become the first Executive Director of the Estero Chamber of Commerce.

Brown is a Founding Member of the Estero Concerned Citizens Organization, ECCL’s predecessor.  An active member of the ECCL, he also currently serves the Estero Community Planning Panel as Recording Secretary.

Brown’s interest in the preservation of Estero’s historical resources led him to become a Founding Member of the Estero Historical Society.  The Society continues to raise funds for the restoration of the 1904 school house and the 1906 Hall-Hanson-Collier house, now located at the Estero Community Park.

Don Eslick has been a driving force in Estero since he arrived with his wife Suzie about 11 years ago.  He is a Founding Member of the Estero Community Planning Panel, helping to establish the high standards that have guided the growth of the community.

He became Founding Chairman of the ECCL in 2002, a “grass roots” community organization which addresses quality of life issues including zoning, transportation, mining, water and the establishment of a 24/7 emergency room.
Eslick is well known in the Board of Lee County Commissioners’ chambers, having served on three of the county’s most prominent committees: the Smart Growth Committee, the Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) Advisory Committee and the Charter Review Committee.

He also serves as Co-Chair of the South Lee County Hospital Committee, member of the Southwest Florida Watershed Council Board, member of the Bonita Community Foundation Board, and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Lee County Committee.

He was voted Lee County Citizen of the Year in 2005.

The Visionary Awards were presented at the 6th annual “All Play and No Work” event held Sunday, March 13 at Angelina’s Restaurant, for ECCL members and guests.

Past recipients of the ECCL Village Visionary Award include Arnie Rosenthal, Barbara Akins, Neal Noethlich, Sam Levy and Nick Batos.