Board of Directors

Richard C. Ackert

Mr. Ackert has made his 47-year career in the commercial banking business. He began with the First National Bank in downtown Fort Myers and retired recently from SouthTrust Bank, formerly The National Bank of Lee County. Mr. Ackert has served the Southwest Florida community in many capacities. He is past chairman of the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation and past chairman of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools. He has also been a director at the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

In 2001, Mr. Ackert was named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. He currently serves as chairman of Hope Hospice.

Samira K. Beckwith

Since 1991, Samira Beckwith has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hope Hospice and Palliative Care, Fort Myers, Florida. A highly respected member of the Southwest Florida business community, Mrs. Beckwith has a long and distinguished record of both public and private service, having served on numerous charitable and civic Boards and organizations, as well as extensive participation in professional associations, including past Chairperson of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program through University of Integrative Studies, Samira has lectured and been published extensively on subjects related to hospice care. Mrs. Beckwith also has a background in banking as a founding Director of Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast.

Todd Caruso

Mr. Caruso is a Certified Public Accountant who is also a Certified Healthcare Business Consultant. He has experience in healthcare areas including ambulatory surgery centers (ASC’s), diagnostic imaging, laboratories, physical therapy centers, practice management companies and individual/group physician practices. He performs analysis and design of ongoing management reporting, financial statement preparation, comparison reporting based on benchmarking from sources such as the Medical Group Management Association and financial reporting requirements to various state and federal health agencies.

He has experience in forming and working in a financial management capacity with physician group practices, including ancillaries, as well as in the areas of mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts. He is knowledgeable regarding tax and financial implications of formation and disposition of healthcare entities and admitting/exiting of physicians from group practices. Mr. Caruso is also experienced in the area of asset protection for physicians. Mr. Caruso has served as a featured speaker for the Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers on ambulatory surgery center benchmarking.   Mr. Caruso has responsibility for review, compliance, research and planning of tax related transactions dealing with a wide range of areas including real estate, liquidations, estates, business acquisitions and sales and partnerships. He has valued businesses for potential buyers, marital settlements and estate planning. Mr. Caruso performs investigative accounting functions for the court and clientele in the areas of guardianship, divorces and business disputes.

Mr. Caruso is a lifelong Florida resident who graduated Magnum Cum Laude from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting.

Professional Memberships:

• Medical Group Management Association
• National Association of Certified Health Care Business Consultants
• American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers
• Health Care Financial Management Association
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants-Tax Division
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Community Involvement:

Active involvement in the local community through various organizations. Past and present positions held:

• President: Rotary Club of Cape Coral, Goldcoast
• Board Member: Southwest Florida Regatta, Inc.
• Board Member: Florida West Boat Racing Assn.
• Head Coach: Cape Coral Junior Football Association
• Treasurer/Board Member: Cape Coral Construction Industry Association
• Chairman: Cape Coral Financial Advisory Commission
• Board Member: Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Planning Council
• Member: United Way Allocation Committee
• Board Member: Boy Scouts of America
• Board Member and Treasurer: Lee Building Industry Association
• Board Member and Treasurer: The Math, Science and Technology Foundation of Florida
• Board Member: Edison Park School Foundation
• Board Member: Busey Bank Florida

Craig R. Hersch

Craig R. Hersch is a Florida Bar Board Certified Wills, Trusts & Estates Attorney and CPA. He assists clients in creating and updating their estate plans by using his unique process,  The Family Estate & Legacy Solution, which is designed to provide comfort and clarity with the numerous legal, tax and financial decisions they must commonly make. Craig has a solid educational and entrepreneurial background not normally found among estate planning attorneys, as he also holds his license as a CPA having worked in an international accounting firm early in his career, and is a founding shareholder and an original board member of Investors' Security Trust Company in Fort Myers, Florida.

Craig understands the concerns of all types of clients from all walks of life, from retirees to entrepreneurs. He enjoys listening to their goals, and applying his creative instincts to suggest solutions that may not have been evident at first glance.

Along with his law partner Michael B. Hill, Hersch creates easy to understand videos and blogs on common estate planning topics. 

A busy family man as he has been married to wife Patti since 1989 along with their three now teenage-daughters, Craig also devotes some spare time to his triathlon and bicycling habits, having competed in numerous events including a 280 mile charity ride from Fort Myers to Key West. He is an avid Gator fan, earning degrees in accounting and law from the University of Florida.

Charles K. Idelson,
President and C.E.O.

Mr. Idelson has 35 years of financial services experience, most recently as President and CEO of a Fortune 500 financial institution. His responsibility of this $1.5 billion bank with 450 employees and 29 branches was to manage the growth of the company, increasing profitability and maintaining excellent customer service.

Charles’ family moved to Sarasota in 1924, and Charles has grown up in the Southwest Florida community. He is widely known as a leader in Lee County. Recipient of the 2001 Clara Barton Humanitarian Award, the 1998 Gulfshore Life Magazine Man of the Year Award and the 1996 Distinguished Leadership Award for Lee County. Mr. Idelson is an involved member of the community. Currently he is Chairman of the Board of Habitat for Humanity, past Chairman Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation, Chairman of Hope Hospice, and Director SW Florida Community Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America and the Public School Foundation for Lee County.

Scholastic Achievments:

LSU Graduate School of Banking, banking certificate

University of Georgia, BA in Finance and Accounting

Darlington School, Rome, Georgia

Elizabeth P. Kagan

A Fort Myers based attorney, Elizabeth Kagan specializes in civil and contract litigation, as well as employment law, health care law and risk management. In addition to her law practice, Liz also is an active member of the Southwest Florida business community as the developer and co-owner -Jet South, Inc., developer and co-owner of Devonwood Estates, a residential community, and the owner of Medical Equipment Leasing and Service Companies.

She is also very active in community activities as President of the Board of Directors Lee County YMCA (1994 to 1996), Chairman for 7 consecutive years, Board of Zoning & Adjustments - City of Fort Myers – member since 1984, Board of Directors First Community Bank of SW Florida, Immediate Past President of the American Medical Association Alliance, Nominating Committee Chair of the AMAA 2002-2003, and Florida Medical Association Alliance Parliamentarian. Elizabeth is also a Director of the First Community Bank of Southwest Florida.

Lynn A. Kirby

Lynn is the previous owner and President of Nu-Cape Construction, a general contracting and development company in Southwest Florida. Nu-Cape merged with Owens Ames Kimball Company in June 2002. Lynn is responsible for overseeing the construction of condominiums, commercial construction, medical office buildings, industrial buildings and self storage facilities. Lynn is also the owner and President of A-1 Shelters, Inc. which developed and manages five individual self storage facilities with total square footage of 1,000,000. He earned a BS in 1976 from the University of Colorado in Architectural Engineering with majors in Construction Management and Structural Engineering.

Lynn also has extensive Board experience having served on the Board of Directors of Suntrust Bank from 1985 through 2002 and currently serving on the Board of Florida Gulf Bank.

James W. Moore

Since 1998, James Moore has been the Principal Partner of Riverside Capital in Fort Myers, Florida, a solely owned private investment company. Mr. Moore has been independently involved in other investments in real estate and banking including; 1982-1998: Gulf Utility Company Fort Myers, Florida - a closely held investor-owned water and sewer utility company serving 20,000+ customers in Lee County.; 1980-1982: Coastland Corp. of Florida. Fort Myers, Florida - a publicly owned (traded OTC) real estate company with operation primarily in land development and home building.; 1970-1980: Vice- President The Charter Company Finance & Operations, Jacksonville, Florida - a publicly owned (traded NYSE) Fortune 500 company with operations including oil refining, publishing, banking, and real estate. Jim has also served in various financial management positions primarily in banking and oil subsidiaries; 1970-1972: President, Resource Management, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana - a small privately owned company engaged in management recruiting and executive search activities; 1965-1970: Corporate Lending, The Citizen & Southern National Bank Atlanta. GA - a statewide commercial bank where he served in corporate lending with large local and national customers.

Past and Present Activities; Chairman of the Board - Florida, Gulf Bank, President -Florida Waterworks Association Trustee, Eckerd College Director - Outreach, Inc.,
Member - Florida Bar Association, Grievance Committee, Director - Miami Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Director - SunTrust Bank Southwest Florida, and various other civic and professional organizations over the years.

John A. Noland
Chairman of the Board

For more than 36 years, John has practiced law with the law firm Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. and is Chair of the Commercial Litigation practice area. Also, he has served as general counsel for some of the firm's corporate clients.

John is admitted to practice in all State courts in Florida, the United States District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th and 11th Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Timothy A. Stephenson ChFC 

Timothy A. Stephenson is the Executive Director of The Legacy Foundation at Shell Point Retirement Community.  The Legacy Foundation is a non-profit  organization  that  provides fiduciary services such as benevolent gift administration, charitable gift annuities, power of attorney and personal surrogate services, daily money manager services, estate and gift planning assistance, and the delivery of enhanced financial management services to the residents of Shell Point.

Prior to joining The Legacy Foundation, Mr. Stephenson served as the Senior Vice President for Development for the Orchard Foundation of The Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His background also includes experience in insurance and investment services with a leading financial corporation.

Stephenson is a graduate of Fort Wayne Bible College, with additional studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and the University of Kentucky.  He completed further graduate study at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in financial services with an emphasis on philanthropic planning, where he received his Chartered Financial Consultant degree.

Professional Designations:

• Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®)
• Charted Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®)
• Chartered Advisor in Senior Living (CASL®)

Professional Memberships:

• Planned Giving Council of Lee County, Inc.
• Partnership for Philanthropic Planning

Community Involvement:

• Active in his church as a teacher.
• Moderator for Financial Peace University.
• Former advisory board member for Rego Manufacturing Company.

Linda M. Treise

Ms. Treise is the shareholder in charge of estate and trust services of Hughes. Snell & Co., CPA's. She is responsible for coordinating the firm’s tax practice including research, review and training. Her area of specialization is estate and trust planning and taxation. Linda provides technical tax support to all other members of the firm. She began her career after graduating with honors from the University of Florida in 1974 with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and passing the CPA exam that same year.

She has given many presentations on tax topics. She is a member of the American Institute and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council.