William L McDaniel

William L. McDaniel, Jr. was born in Franklin, Penn., on March 25, 1961, the eldest of three children. His mother, brother (a retired Marine Corps staff sergeant) and sister still live in the Franklin area. A 1979 graduate of Rocky Grove High School, William enrolled at Clarion State University, where he majored in accounting and computer programming with a minor in economics. To pay for college, William worked as a carpenter. A job building a stable (Naples Therapeutic Riding Center) brought him to Naples in 1981, and he has lived in the area ever since.

After moving to Naples, William became a licensed real estate salesperson and, in 1985, he became a licensed Realtor. He founded the Realty Company in 1987, which he manages today, focusing on the sale, management, and development of real estate in Southwest Florida. In 1998, he founded Big Island Excavating, Inc., a mining company with an office located in District 5 in eastern Collier County. The company, which William manages today, has operated mines in four Southwest Florida counties (Collier, Lee, Hendry, and Charlotte). In 1999, William was a founding director of Marine National Bank. When the company was bought by Old Florida Bank in 2003, William was selected to represent the shareholders and to serve on the new board of Old Florida Bank, until its sale in 2007 to the Bank of Florida. William currently owns and operates Lazy Springs Recreational Park and employs more than 30 people.

Among his civic activities, William is currently the chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee of Goodwill of Southwest Florida and has served on the Board of Directors of that organization since 1998. He is founder of and the current president of the Corkscrew Island Neighborhood Association. From 2007 until early 2009, he served as the chairman of the Board of County Commissioners-appointed East of 951 Horizon Study Committee. He also served for two years on the Board of County Commissioners-appointed Rural Lands Stewardship Overlay Review Committee. In 2013, he was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Collier County Housing Authority and served on that Authority until his election as Collier County Commissioner on November 8, 2016. He was re-elected to the Board of County Commissioners on November 3, 2020.

William has two children: Kelley Marie, a 25-year-old graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, and William III, who is a 21-year-old carpenter/contractor. In their free time, the family enjoys outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, and boating.

Boards and Committees:

• Chairman of the Tourist Development Council (TDC) January 23, 2023
• Chairman of Board of County Commissioners – 1/11/22 to 1/10/23
• Vice-Chairman to the Board of County Commissioners 1/12/21 to 1/11/22
• Serves on the NACo Environment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee (EELU),
• Serves on the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC),
• Public Safety Committee 1/9/18 to 1/8/19
• County Government Productivity Committee 1/9/18 to 1/8/19 and 2021
• Current co-Chair of the Immokalee CRA.