Monday April 14th, 2008 - 8:07AM

Meet Bentina Terry - newly elected to the CMPA Board of Trustees!

Her resume is a tour de force: Vice President - External Affairs and Corporate Services for Gulf Power Company, member of the Climate Change Advisory Committee of the Florida Energy Council, the Executive Committee of the Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group, the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Florida's Great Northwest, the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Economic Development Council and the Board of Directors of the Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce.

We are talking serious major-market talent.

The non-profit Community Maritime Park Associates Board of Trustees agreed, voting her in to replace an empty slot on the board.

Trustee Dick Baker wrote on his nomination form proposing Ms. Terry's membership that, "She has already been working with the Gulf Coast African American Chamber to find a method of making the Contractors Academy a successful reality and has background and experience in efforts to make minority employment programs work. For the Board, minority employment is both one of the greatest opportunities of the park project and one of the greatest challenges, and Bentina will bring us much-needed thoughts, advice, and experiences."

Her official bio talks about her background, ands the series of achievements that follow one after another:

"A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Terry holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in English from North Carolina State University. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and the Georgia State Bar; Leadership Atlanta and Leadership North Carolina, the American Association of Blacks in Energy, and has been featured in Women's Exchange 2006 Profile."

Perhaps Mr. Baker sums up her potential for the community, writing on his nominating form that, "Bentina brings exceptional . . . talents that are much needed by the Board."

You can see all the nominees' information by visiting the Community Maritime Park web site at:

http://www.CommunityMaritimePark.com

When the home page opens, look to the left-hand side of the page and click on "Links." Once there, click on /page/links/nominations1

The site will open up the complete set in Adobe Reader format. If you do not have Reader on your computer, you can get it, free, by:

Clicking here: