For Immediate Release
Eric Mann to Chair Jacksonville Civic Council
CEO and president of the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast to lead group during critical time in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 18, 2022 – Eric Mann, the CEO and president of the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast, has been elected by the membership of the Jacksonville Civic Council (JCC) to become its sixth chairman of the board. Mann, who became chairman May 1, succeeds former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney and president of Flagler College, who will remain on the board as immediate past chairman.
“I’m honored to be elected as the chair of the JCC,” said Mann. “I am looking forward to tackling community issues which impact the future of Jacksonville and our residents. I’m dedicated to helping Jacksonville be the best city it can be.”
Founded in 2010, the JCC is a nonpartisan group of business, civic and government leaders dedicated to shaping Jacksonville’s future as a premier, vibrant city with a thriving economy and high quality of life. The JCC collectively drives change by identifying critical issues and identifying fact-based solutions as well as implementing and advocating for positive change.
“We are honored to have Mr. Mann serve as our new chairman as we enter our 12th year of service to our community,” said John Delaney, founding member and outgoing chairman of JCC. “Engaging and harnessing the power of our business leadership in civic pursuits is a founding principle of JCC and we look forward to Eric’s vast experience as a leader for change.”
JCC is well recognized for voicing its support and opposition of projects, proposals and policies that have been instrumental in defining Jacksonville’s shared future. These matters include public pension reform, downtown redevelopment, its opposition of the JEA sale proposal as well as its support of the 2021 half-cent sales tax referendum to improve public school infrastructure.
Most recently and under the leadership of Delaney, JCC spearheaded the “Get the Vax Jax” campaign to drive awareness of vaccines’ role in strengthening businesses and industries during and post-pandemic. During his tenure as chairman, Delaney also led the organization’s work on education, public finance and race and social justice. Delaney and Mann worked together closely on these issues, more specifically a report on race and social justice that will be released later this Summer.
“JCC has had an enormous impact on policy and other public initiatives in the last decade,” said Jeanne Miller, president and CEO of JCC. “John’s leadership is credited with the influence we’ve had on our community and his service has been invaluable to JCC and beyond. We know Eric will be a tremendous leader who will help define our strategic vision for the future of JCC and for Jacksonville’s business community.”
Mann has served as president and CEO of YMCA of Florida’s First Coast since 2011 and has been with the YMCA for more than 40 years. He was CEO of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania YMCA when he was recruited to become the first African American leader of Florida’s First Coast YMCA and as such, he also became the first African American CEO of a major metropolitan YMCA south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Mann’s career includes experience in nonprofit operations, management and organizational development. Mann and the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast have been members of the JCC for eight years and Mann has served on the board since 2014. Most recently he served as co-chairman of JCC’s Race and Social Justice Task Force which has worked for two years to develop a community report, planned for release in the summer of 2022. He has also been a member of the board’s membership and executive committee.
The Jacksonville Civic Council is a non-partisan group of prominent business leaders whose goal is to help resolve community issues by studying a problem, proposing solutions, advocating for change, and providing resources and support. The mission of the Jacksonville Civic Council is to promote a fiscally responsible, economically vibrant, thriving community, that offers opportunity for all its residents. For more visit www.jaxciviccouncil.com.
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