Chamber’s government relations recruit relocating from D.C.

Bob Porter, former executive director and CEO of Paws for Purple Hearts, has been selected as the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce’s new government relations and economic development manager according to an announcement received by Historic City News this week.

Porter will oversee the Chamber’s government relations program, replacing Carol Saviak. He will manage the Chamber’s Day at the Capitol in January, work with leadership to finalize the Chamber’s 2016 Legislative Agenda, direct the Leadership St Johns program and prepare for the Politics in St. Johns events next year in St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra.

“I am thrilled to become a new member of this great team and a new resident of St Johns County,” Porter told local Historic City News reporters. “I look forward to working closely with the business community.”

Most of Porter’s 30-year career has been spent working as a Congressional staffer, the director of government relations for the law firm of Collier Shannon & Scott, a vice president at the international business consulting firm headed by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, while living in the Washington D.C. area.

His most recent position was directing the efforts of Paws for Purple Hearts; an organization that trains and places service dogs with wounded warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Porter brings to us a strong background in public policy advocacy, non-profit management, as well as program design and management skills,” Chamber president and chief executive, Isabelle Rodriguez, told local reporters. “We believe Porter is a valuable addition and we are excited to have him on board.”

The Porters are relocating from Arlington, Virginia.