Condon to chair county commission, Renninger elected vice chair

County commissioners chose Betsy Condon to chair their board for the next year. Commissioner Jim Renninger nominated the Keystone Heights-area resident. Condon served as commission vice-chair during 2022, while Wayne Bolla led the five-member panel.

Condon was first elected to the Clay County School Board in 2014 by defeating incumbent Tina Bullock. Four years later, Bullock regained the seat by capturing 53.6% of the vote.

In 2020 Commissioner Gavin Rollins resigned to run for U.S. Congress, and Condon successfully campaigned to fill the remaining two years in Rollins’ term. In 2022 the Keystone Heights resident won reelection.

According to the commissioner’s biography on the county’s website, Condon earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental health from the University of Georgia and worked on environmental health projects for Atlanta’s MARTA transit system, including preparing the transit system’s safety infrastructure for the 1996 Olympic Games. 

She then worked for Energizer Power Systems in Alachua County, managing all environmental compliance programs, including EPA RCRA compliance, all hazardous waste management and disposal, the groundwater contamination monitoring program for over 200 monitor wells, and all state and local compliance.

Condon held similar environmental and safety positions at Moltech Power Systems Ltd. and Regeneration Technologies Inc. While at RTI, she was named the 2006 Compliance Magazine Safety Director of the Year.

In 2015 Condon and her husband Joe launched Auxadyne in Keystone Heights. Through a licensing agreement with Florida State University, they develop high-performance foam padding applications for medical devices, military and first responder equipment, sports equipment and apparel. 

Condon’s civic leadership includes serving as president of the Keystone Recreation Association and as a member of the Keystone Heights Rotary Club, the Keystone Methodist Church, the Capital City Bank Community Board and the National Rifle Association. She and her husband, Joe, have two children.

Commissioner Mike Cella nominated Renninger as vice-chair. Commissioners unanimously approved Cella’s nomination for the Orange Park representative. 

Renninger was first elected to the board of county commissioners in 2020 after serving on the Orange Park Town Council for three terms and as mayor twice.

The county said that in 1996 Renninger retired as a captain in the Navy after 26 years of service. His assignments included three commands, and he served as chief of staff for the USS George Washington Battlegroup under Admiral Mike Mullen, who later became chief of naval operations and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

After leaving the Navy, Renninger was appointed director of Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Aviation Center of Excellence. While at FSCJ, his testimony to Congress in 2007 led to the authorization and development of the college’s air traffic control education and training program. His last assignment at the school was as dean of workforce programs at the downtown campus. 

Renninger’s current business activities center around real estate investments. He and his wife, Dr. Phillis Renninger, own and operate Grant Development and Management LLC.

The couple has been married for over 50 years and has four children and six grandchildren. All four children graduated from Orange Park High School and attended Florida universities.

Renninger’s civic leadership includes serving as the president of the Northeast Florida League of Cities, the Penney Farms Retirement Community board, and the boards of Portofino Condominium Association in Pensacola and the Seasons Condominiums in Orange Park. He is a member of the Clay County Republican Executive Committee, Republican Men’s Club, and past President of the Navy League, Jacksonville Council. Renninger is a member of Grace Anglican Church in Fleming Island and serves in various social and professional organizations.

In addition to electing a chair and vice chair, commissioners also welcomed Alexandra Compere to the board. Compere won the District 2 seat after incumbent Wayne Bolla was termed out. The district covers the Oakleaf Plantation area.

A Clay County native and nearly 10-year resident of Oakleaf, Compere comes from three generations of sugar cane farmers. Her parents migrated from Haiti to the U.S. in the 1980s.

While campaigning for the seat, Compere said she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Florida, a master’s degree in Christian education from North Florida Theological Seminary, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Florida Coastal School of Law.

The commissioner’s civic service includes board memberships on Clinical Pastoral Education International and Clay County’s Republican Executive Committee. She is a member of Morning Star Family Church in Middleburg.

Compere is an attorney with the Law Office of Craig Gibbs in Jacksonville. There she focuses on personal injury law.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Compere told her colleagues she had always been warned that politics was “a dark kind of place.”

“I’m so thankful that y’all have been able to show me that that’s not really true everywhere,” she said. “It’s been wonderful already. I’m truly grateful for all of you, and I’m so excited about working with you.”