Bonk and Stilwell Youngquist appointed to Tourist Development Council
The Lee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) recently appointed Councilwoman Darla Bonk and Sandra Stilwell Youngquist to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC).
Bonk will represent the city of Fort Myers as the municipality that generated the highest revenues from the tourist tax in the most recent fiscal year. Stilwell Youngquist will serve a four-year term in the newly created seventh industry voting seat.
“Darla Bonk and Sandy Stilwell Youngquist are proven leaders in their fields and bring extensive experience to the table,” said Cecil Pendergrass, who chairs the Lee Board of County Commissioners and the Tourist Development Council. “I’m excited to see the contributions they’ll make to the TDC and to advancing tourism throughout our community. Lee County tourism is stronger when we work together.”
Darla Bonk was elected in 2020 to serve as the Ward 6 representative on the Fort Myers City Council and was re-elected in 2024. A Fort Myers native with more than 20 years of executive experience across Fortune 200 companies, nonprofit leadership and management consulting, she is CEO and founder of Darla Bonk Consulting and co-owner of Architectural Metal Flashings. She holds a degree in Communication from Lee University and was named one of the “40 Over 40 Women to KNOW in Business” in America.
Sandra Stilwell Youngquist is CEO and owner of Stilwell Enterprises & Restaurant Group, a Captiva Island-based enterprise encompassing seven restaurants, inns and three shopping centers across Captiva Island, Fort Myers and Boca Grande — including the Captiva Island Inn and three Keylime Bistro locations. A lifelong hospitality professional who got her start in the industry at Fort Myers Beach at age 10, she has owned and operated restaurants in Lee County since 2001 and is the author of Resilient Spirit, a book on entrepreneurship. She is a Trustee of Florida Gulf Coast University, a past President of SWFL Children’s Charities (SWFL Wine Fest) and a recipient of the Gulfshore Business Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award.
The eleven voting seats of the TDC are composed of the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners or designee, three elected municipal officials and seven representatives from the tourism industry, of whom not fewer than three nor more than five are owners or operators of tourist accommodations subject to the tourist development tax. All members must be electors of Lee County.
The new appointments follow the adoption of Lee County Ordinance No. 26-10 on Aug. 4, 2026, which expanded the TDC from nine to eleven voting members in conformance with Chapter 2026-205, Laws of Florida. The TDC was established as an advisory board to the BoCC in 1983 to increase off-season tourism in Lee County.
For more information about the TDC, visit leevcb.com.