Name: Mary Pat King
LT Class Year: Insight Class of 2022
Company: Girl Scouts of West Central Florida
Interviewed by: Laura Frost and Stacy Miller
Laura Frost and Stacy Miller met with Mary Pat over Zoom for a wonderful discussion. You will want to take a moment or three to speak with her at your next opportunity. Following her advice (see #3 below), you can always check and see what events she will be attending ahead of time and plan accordingly (Did you know you could look up who’s attending the LTA events on the Chamber website?).
At one point, she mentioned the birthplace home of Juliette Gordon Lowe, the founder of the Girl Scouts, and Stacy happens to have a painting of it in her kitchen! When she and her husband were stationed in Savannah, Georgia, her office was located right next to it, and she just loved the home and, of course, the Girl Scout memories from her childhood.
As they both are huge proponents of the Word of the Year (her 2024 WOTY for the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida is UPLIFT), they spent some time discussing how this is an effective leadership tactic, personally and professionally. Mary Pat feels that “LTA is filled with people that can ‘uplift’ [her]” and hopes she can uplift people in return.
As you will see from this interview, Mary Pat is an extraordinary leader that is sharing her wisdom with the young (and young at heart) women of Tampa Bay.Thank you, Mary Pat, for sharing your time!
- Tell us, why affiliate with LTA after your experience with Insight?
There are approximately 2,160 Leadership Tampa Alumni. It is both a diverse and elite group of leaders who have pledged their commitment to making Tampa a better place to live, work and play. Many of the leaders I have met in the past four years have mentioned Leadership Tampa Alumni as their go-to network.
So when I was invited to attend Leadership Tampa Alumni after completing the Chamber’s Insight Tampa program, I seized the opportunity to expand my network and continue gaining in-depth, executive insights about the region.
- For you, what separates LTA from other business leadership programs?
I’ve attended many leadership programs in my career. What makes Insight Tampa stand out is that it is not theoretical. This program gave you insights from multiple sectors on what executives/leaders face every day and how they navigate today’s biggest problems. It was fascinating to jump in and hear about others’ industries while wearing my own leadership lens.
For those who are not familiar… Insight Tampa is a leadership program for C-suite (Presidents/CEOs) who recently moved to the area or who have been recently promoted into their positions. It is an abbreviated program that gives executives who are new to Tampa (or whose oversight spans the region, state, nation or globe) the opportunity to connect and deeply understand the issues Tampa faces, specifically. In six sessions, we engaged with local leaders who shared their challenges and opportunities on the topics of: quality of life, military community, education and workforce, transportation and infrastructure, government and economy.
- Describe a time when the LTA experience impacted your life or career?
I started my role as CEO of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida in Spring 2020 – just as the pandemic was beginning. I was a first-time CEO and this position was my first time working for a local/regional organization. Prior to GSWCF, my career was spent in Washington, DC at the headquarters of national nonprofits focused on youth/family issues.
Networking is different at the national level. Your typical networking experience is on the phone (pre-pandemic; now Zoom/Teams) in productive work group meetings with a specific objective upon which to collectively focus. Or, networking occurs during days-long conferences where you have time to dive deep into shared passions and advocacy goals. It seems you walk away from each conference with at least one new friend.
Networking locally takes time and requires you to design your own comfort zone. For much of 2020-2021, I was often the stranger in a room full of long-time colleagues and friends. It didn’t help that I was wearing a mask, which hid my smile – a tool I now realize I’ve used all my life to overcome shyness and spark connections. So when I joined Insight Tampa, I was pleased that we were all new – new to each other and, in many cases, new to Tampa. It really helped me to get comfortable here and build my confidence as I accelerated the expansion of my local network.
As a member of LTA, I appreciate the access to the registration list for each event. I use it! I do my research in advance so that I can be intentional about connecting with people who have shared passions and goals. It seems like after every LTA event, I walk away with at least one new friend.
- What is a LTA benefit you wish everyone knew about?
I think the opportunity to mentor an emerging leader is an LTA benefit that everyone should know about! I am signed up for this year and can’t wait. I’ve had the opportunity to connect with the Emerging Leaders as a speaker in the past and several connections that sparked that night have been so valuable for me and my organization. Emerging leaders are influencers and decision-makers! While they may benefit from mentoring, they also add great value to your life and your business objectives.
- Describe how the leadership journey will continue to shape you?
As I enter my fourth year as CEO, I’m grateful for Insight Tampa and LTA as a group that continues to provide valuable connections for the advancement of our Girl Scout mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. For example, Insight Tampa ’22 Alum Kim Neuscheler, Vice President and General Manager of Turner Construction Company, has added so much value serving on our properties committee and helping us in the care of our four camps and leadership center. Mark Gesner has been instrumental in exploring Girl Scout membership growth opportunities at the Tampa JCCs. And of course, several existing LTA members are also our board members, committee volunteers, supporters and past or present Women of Distinction Honorees.
At the beginning of each fiscal year, I choose a word to emphasize with my team. In my first year, we PERSEVERED through COVID. In 2022, we BELIEVED we could transform through a massive organizational structure. We moved to a more community-centered model and began to grow after a substantial membership loss caused by limited access to schools and community centers during the pandemic. In 2023, we stabilized our operations and sought to find our collective and individual STRIDE in our efforts.
In 2024, our word is UPLIFT. I’m proud to share that in 2024, we are one the fastest growing Girl Scout Councils nationwide. We have 2,500+ more Girl Scouts this year than we did last year at this time! So for 2024, we are focused on UPLIFTING each other and the stories of our Girl Scouts, our volunteers, our supporters and our staff.
Our accelerated growth feels amazing and yet it presents new challenges: a need for more volunteer training opportunities, greater diversity in our Girl Scout program options, and high demand for financial aid to support Girl Scouts whose families are struggling.
These challenges are best conquered through new partnerships and collaborations in the community. This is my favorite kind of networking as it is fueled by aligned passions and shared goals. Now that the faces are familiar and many of the names are known, I’m looking to deepen my mutually beneficial relationships with key leaders across Tampa Bay so that you know how you can depend on me – and I know how we can best engage you in Girl Scouts.
Fun Facts About You/Local Knowledge:
Latest movie, book or both?
I love Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage. SO great for CEOs forming their leadership teams, building culture and accelerating growth. And, I’m not ashamed to share my latest movie was Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
Favorite spot to meet friends/colleagues for coffee, lunch or happy hour?
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant or an event with me, you know I have a very rare anaphylactic allergy to – olive oil! (I know – it’s terrible!) So I try to choose places that I know are safe so I don’t have to ask so many questions. Most often, you’ll connect with me over a Venti Pike with light cream at Starbucks or a Veggie Roll at Kona Grill!
For staycation in Tampa Bay, you like to…
Even though we’ve lived in Palm Harbor for a decade, everything in Tampa Bay still feels like a vacation to my husband, my kids and me! We love Indian Rocks, St. Pete Beach, Madeira Beach and Anna Maria Island for staycations. During the past two years, we’ve also started spending a lot of free time exploring all the things to love about downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, especially!
When out of town guests are visiting, you plan….
I plan a pool day at my house. There is nothing like having my northern relatives/friends from Syracuse/Watertown, NY at my house in February for a barbecue, yard games and pool time. While there is so much to see and do in this area, when people come to visit – we have the most fun when we spend time together enjoying the Florida sunshine and relaxing together in a way that makes everyone feel at home.
Any hidden treasures/recent discoveries you’d like to share?!
I live in the East Lake area of Palm Harbor (Pinellas County). So two of the hidden treasures I’d like to share are downtown Tarpon Springs and Safety Harbor. If you like a quiet stroll through cute towns with little shops, lots of art, delicious food and drink – check out these beautiful downtowns! If you’re feeling like a longer stroll and some great live music, Dunedin is the place to go! Start at the Fenway Rooftop for a magical sunset!
BONUS QUESTION: Big news for your org?
We recently announced the 2024 Women of Distinction Honorees: Marilyn Alvarez, Hillsborough County Deputy Sheriff; Alison Barlow, General (Ret.); Ann Dunwoody, Bemetra Simmons, Diana Walker and Renée Vaughn. We will celebrate these amazing women on International Women’s Day, March 8, at Armature Works during the 2024 Women of Distinction Luncheon. We expect to sell out so please secure your sponsorship or table today: www.gswcf.org/wod.