08/09/2005
Be visible.
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NFIB/Florida member Sherrill Tomasino, shown here last November with Senate President Tom Lee (Brandon) at his swearing-in ceremony, is known for bending an ear or two, but cautions that you never want to "abuse it." |
That's Sherrill Tomasino's creed when it comes to the political process.
An NFIB member along with her husband, Paul, since the early 1970s, Tomasino believes elected officials in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., can stray unless they hear from constituents regularly.
"You've got to communicate with them. You've just got to," said Tomasino, who lives and works in the Tampa suburb of Temple Terrace. "They get up there, and they forget. We've got to remind them."
The Tomasinos own and operate Tomasino & Associates, a consulting engineering and land survey business with 22 full-time employees. Sherrill is vice president, and with a laugh describes her duties as doing "whatever nobody else wants to do."
The small firm has done extensive work over the years on Interstate 4, as well as many sub-divisions, convenience stores, streets, roads and utilities. Tomasino said their business breakdown is 40 percent public/60 percent private, varying from year to year on expenditures by the Department of Transportation.
Significant concerns include challenges facing fellow NFIB members – lack of access to affordable health insurance, lawsuit abuse and the death tax.
"Health insurance is huge," she said, noting the firm competes for employees with Fortune 500 companies. "It's such a part of our budget. You try to get innovative, but it's so difficult."
Tomasino also said their business has received some professional liability claims without merit, but it's "cheaper for us to settle. It's an awful part of the business. It's no fun at all."
This is where NFIB comes into play for the Tomasinos. While driving at midnight to Orlando for an NFIB meeting 11 years ago, the exhausted couple recognized they needed to scale back in some areas. But NFIB made the cut.
"We realized after that meeting that NFIB needed to remain a big part of our lives," she said. "We especially like the fact that [the process] is member-driven."
She added NFIB membership is like a "two-for-one" because lobbying for small business is done at the state and federal levels.
"How good does it get?" she asked.
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NFIB/Florida Leadership Council member Sherrill Tomasino (second from left), listens to NFIB/Florida Leadership Council Chairman David Hurley (far right) and wife Beverley (second from right) express concerns to Rep. Ed Homan (Tampa) at NFIB/Florida's 2005 Small-Business Day at the Capitol. |
Very good, according to NFIB/Florida State Director Steve Birtman, who knows he can count on the Tomasinos to bend the ears of legislators and articulate small-business concerns.
"Sherrill and Paul Tomasino are two of our very best members," Birtman said. "When you're that visible, the leaders of our state start to notice."
The Tomasinos make a point to stay in contact with their state representative, Ed Homan (Temple Terrace), and state senator, Victor Crist (Tampa), among several elected officials.
"It's very important to us that [they] know who we are," Sherrill said. "It's important to have a personal relationship with [them] and their aides … [but you] don't abuse it."
Despite early reservations that he was a single-issue candidate, Tomasino said Homan "has been quite good. … I have been relatively pleased with his performance up there. He does listen."
She also praises Gov. Jeb Bush for running "a good tight ship."
"I don't agree with him on everything, but I don't agree on everything with Paul."
She also praises the progress that's being made in building infrastructure across the state, "probably as fast as it can. Everywhere you look there is progress being made, and finally in Tampa, too."
Sherrill is a Leadership Council member of NFIB/Florida and interviews with Tampa-area media about small-business concerns. The Tomasinos are regulars at NFIB/Florida's annual Small-Business Day at the Capitol and Tampa Area Action Council meetings, and contribute to SAFE Trust.
Sherrill is involved elsewhere – she's on the board of the Greater Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce and is their Legislative Committee chairman, and she's president of the Pleasant Terrace Civic Association. Gov. Bush recently appointed her to the University of South Florida Board of Trustees.
The ubiquitous Tomasino said, "It's important to be involved … and know the people and know the players. Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm one of those blunt people."
Most definitely, fellow NFIB/Florida members would say "fortunately."
