What she did: Dist. 4 City Council member 1999-2007
What she’s doing now: Principal, Creative Community Solutions
by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
How she does what she does has changed for former City Council member Suzanne Jenkins since she left office due to term limits a little more than a year ago but basically, what she does remains the same.
“People sometimes ask me what I’m doing now. I ask them what do they need to have done?” said Jenkins.
When she left office, Jenkins founded Creative Community Solutions, a consulting firm that, said Jenkins, “helps clients achieve their goals that will make Jacksonville a better city. That’s why Creative Community Solutions’ logo is three puzzle pieces. Every element of the city is a piece and the better they fit together the better the picture for Jacksonville.”
Jenkins said the experience of starting the business has added another component to her lifetime resume.
“Before I was elected I was executive director of Jax Pride, so I know how to raise money for a nonprofit organization,” she said. “Then I was given the opportunity to serve the community as an elected official and now I’m a small business owner.”
Jenkins’ clients run the gamut from other small businesses who need advice about where to go within City government to get the services and permits they need to much larger clients with their special needs. She’s currently working on what she described as “a family art festival and salute to the troops” that will be held Nov. 8-9 at Midtown Office Centre (the former Koger Center off Beach Boulevard).
“This is the first year of a project we think will continue for many more years,” said Jenkins. “It has taken the knowledge I gained as a Council member from permits to special events to coordinate the festival.”
Being out of office doesn’t mean she’s not available. Jenkins has also taken on some volunteer work as chair of the St. Nicholas Business Association and she’s contributing to the City Planning and Development Department’s visioning process for Southeast Jacksonville.
Jenkins is enjoying the “more casual atmosphere” of the private sector and said sometimes it’s nice to be able to implement an idea without making sure she has at least 9 other people who would agree with her, but there are a few things she misses about public office.
“I miss so many of the people I worked with while I was on the Council. And I really enjoyed creating legislation that improved my district and Jacksonville.
“It was exciting to be on the front end of making a difference, having the authority and power to create change,” she said. “I’m having a lot of fun and it has certainly been another learning experience. When you’re on City Council, issues walk through the door and land on your desk. It’s nice now to be able to choose what I want to work on.”
This is another in a series on area executives and political and community leaders who have played prominent roles in the development of Downtown or Jacksonville as a whole over the years. Some are still in the area, working or retired or a bit of both. Some have moved away and are working in other areas of the state or country. The series continues with former City Council member Suzanne Jenkins.
Photo by Max Marbut
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