Speakers:
Bill Weinaug, president, Wekiva Island
Mary Weinaug, executive director, Wekiva Island
Moderated by:
Rebekah Arthur, president and CEO, Seminole County Chamber
Bill Weinaug was born in western New York. He graduated from Penn State University and moved to Florida to start his career as an engineer. Not long after, he joined several friends as a partner at a small firm. They grew that firm from 12 people to 4,000, starting several divisions that are thriving today. While Bill retired from full-time work at exp in 2024, his time in engineering ignited his love for sustainability, which he applied at home and to his passion project, Wekiva Island.
Bill and his family purchased the former Wekiwa Marina in 2008 and have grown it into a beacon for sustainability in business. Today, Bill's focus is structured around his trademarked sustainability toolbox, C.E.R.O., which stands for Conservation, Efficiency, Renewables and Offsets. Bill believes that, through this toolbox, we can make a difference by saving wasted energy and providing positive impacts on the environment through all types of energy conservation measures and sustainable approaches.
When he isn't working to improve Wekiva Island, Bill is a passionate backpacker and SCUBA diver. He has five children and five grandchildren and has been married to his wife, Mary Sue, for 21 years.
A native Floridian born in Port Charlotte, Mary Sue moved to Orlando in 1967, then Altamonte Springs. She has lived in Central Florida her whole life. Mary graduated high school from Lyman High in Longwood, FL, and went to Seminole State College. Her family bought Wekiva Island on 9/30/2008, and she is extremely proud of what they have built, transforming a business that was very popular but was rotting away from lack of maintenance. They have made it a beautiful venue in Seminole County. Mary has worked at Wekiva Island since they purchased it. It has become her life, and she has fully immersed herself in the Island and the protection of the environment. In 2009, Mary partnered with Keep Seminole Beautiful, and when the Executive Director passed away, she took over. She has overseen as many as 30 river clean ups a year since, pulling an estimated six tons of trash out of the river and off of the roads in the last 16 years.
Mary has also served on the Audubon Advisory Board for the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland since about 2015 and served a four-year term on Seminole County's Tourism Development Council from 2018 to 2021.
Mary has five children and five grandchildren, all of whom she cherishes. She has been married to her husband for 21 years. Mary is passionate about her family and loves to travel. In 2022, her family invested in properties in Tennessee, and she hopes to spend time there with her husband and family.
Sponsors:
AdventHealth
Verizon
South Seminole Business & Storage
Waste Pro
The Orlando Law Group
Addition Financial
Genske & Co. Accounting
JPMorganChase
Grand Canyon University
Westarp AI+BI
Seminole SCOUT by Freebee