Pictured above: Frederick Piccolo (left) will replace Charles Tokarz on the USF Board of Trustees.
Courtesy of USF.
By Michael Alden
USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford announced during a board meeting on Tuesday that Frederick “Rick” Piccolo will replace board member Charles Tokarz.
In the meeting, Weatherford said the appointment was made Friday night by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Piccolo is the fifth new appointment to the board since January, following the recent appointment of Lauren Monbarren on July 25.
“Rick has been running the airport authority in Sarasota for the last 25 years. He was on the search committee for the last presidential search here, he’s very active in the USF community in Sarasota and is a great person,” Weatherford said.
Piccolo was not present during the meeting due to what Weatherford called “a quick turnaround” in Piccolo’s appointment.
Piccolo is the president and chief executive officer of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport and was named the 2005 Florida Department of Transportation Aviation Professional of the Year. He is a former chairman of Airports Council International World and the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the board of the Bradenton Area Economic Development Council.
Piccolo served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Piccolo replaces Tokarz, who has been a board member since 2018. Tokarz is the vice president of finance for Medallion Home in Sarasota. He also serves as chair of the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Advisory Board.
“I am humbled and honored that Governor DeSantis has selected me for the University of South Florida Board of Trustees,” Piccolo told The Crow’s Nest. “Having two USF graduates in my immediate family and my previous involvement with the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Advisory Board, as well as serving on both the Consolidation Task Force and a Presidential Search Committee, provides me with some foundational knowledge that I believe will be helpful in coming up to speed on the university’s current direction.”
Piccolo’s appointment continues a Board of Trustees shakeup that began in January after grumbling by key Pinellas County elected officials about the way USF leaders have handled consolidation of USF’s three campuses.
