Who is Betty G?

Betty has lived in Southwest Florida for 26 years. She retired in 2006 after owning and operating a highly successful State Farm insurance agency in Port Charlotte for 20 years. Her insurance firm employed and trained approximately 35 professionals including student-interns. She continues to enjoy the respect and trust of her former business and residential clients as well as her peers in the insurance industry.

Betty has an extensive background in health care working in both the clinical and administrative fields. She started her professional nursing career in 1974. When she moved to Sarasota in 1982, she joined the staff of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital as the Assistant Director of Nursing. Betty earned her Masters in Nursing from Wichita State University (KS) in 1979 and her Bachelors from Troy University (AL) in 1974. She was a nursing instructor at Wichita State (1977-79) and Adjunct Faculty at Creighton University in Omaha in 1981.

Betty is a fierce advocate for strengthening Florida’s educational system. She is a well-known figure in Charlotte County education circles as a result of her long and active involvement with Charlotte County Public School system. She has served on committees to select school principals and helped to create academic scholarships for public school students. Today Betty works directly with students and student activities. She helped create a program that rewards students who show academic improvement – the “Take Stock in Children” program where she continues to mentor students in the Charlotte County school district. She is a member of both her alma mater’s Foundations – Society of 1895 and Troy Shield Society.

When President Clinton created his Welfare-to-Work program, Betty was appointed Chair of the five-county W.A.G.E.S. Coalition for Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades and Henry counties. Work and Gain Economic Sufficiency (W.A.G.E.S.) helped countless numbers of individuals, particularly women, transform their lives from welfare to meaningful employment.

Betty is a member of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce, a 2001 graduate of Leadership Charlotte and a past Distinguished President of the Murdock Kiwanis Club in Port Charlotte. She is a member of the Democratic Clubs of Charlotte County and of North Port. She has been extremely active in the leadership of the local Democratic Party for a number of years.

A charter member of the Edgewater United Methodist Church in Port Charlotte, Betty serves on the Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry as part of the Florida Conference.

Betty is the proud parent of William Douglas Gissendanner, an American solider in the United States Air Force for the past 9 years. Doug graduated from Port Charlotte High School and is currently stationed at Ramstein AFB Germany attached to 86th Aeronautical Medical Evacuation Squadron. His assignment takes him in and out of the middle of war zones to extract those brave men and women injured in service to this great Nation.

Betty is one of 10 children. Born March 10, 1951, Betty has spent the past 26 years developing strong and enduring relationships in the Southwest Florida community.