Uncommon Achiever

>> Lee County had plenty of chambers of commerce in the late 1980s, but any company interested in expanding here would have had trouble getting comprehensive information or assistance. So a group of businesspeople banded together and gained county officials’ support for economic development.

The result is the Horizon Council, a public-private body that advises county commissioners as well as the Lee County Office of Economic Development on economic development matters.

Among the businessmen joining those early efforts was Tom Hoolihan, a founding member who this year became the second person to receive its Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It’s not an award we give every year," says spokeswoman Jennifer Berg. "It’s designed to honor individuals who have given of themselves to improve the business climate of Lee County."

"Tom and I are probably the only two founding members who were chairmen and are still voting members," says David Barton, the only other award recipient. "Tom was a great enthusiast, as I was, and he was willing to do whatever came in front of us."

Hoolihan served as vice chairman, then chairman. "He has served in just about every other position on the board as well," Berg says.

When the Horizon Council started, Hoolihan was president of the North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and was running his father’s real estate development company. He launched Vision One Realty in 1993 and then Vision One Management, and eventually went on his own and developed Coconut Shores, Southwind in The Vines and then Riverbend Golf & Riverclub project in North Fort Myers.

His wife, Kerrey, now handles the sales operations, and their business interests span most facets of the real estate and development industry.