Carl W. Johnson

Carl was a recognized community leader in Tampa when I joined the Tampa Chamber as a inexperienced new hire. His advice, friendship, accountability (!) were always on point. Four years later when I met my now wife, I realized he was her first boss out of college. Carl was one of a kind and a truly kind man. I am glad I got to see him before he passed.

What was formerly the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and is now the Tampa Bay Chamber, owes Carl a debt of gratitude for the many years he convinced businesses to join and support the Chamber. He was highly successful at what he did, and paid as much attention to member retention as he did to member recruitment. He never took any member's investment for granted and went out of his way to engage members, get them involved in the organization. He was the king of networking, always connecting the right people with each other - so much so, that several of Tampa's milestones can probably be traced to Carl's instinctive ability to make good business introductions. He had the gift of gab and liked to tease his fellow chamber colleagues, myself included. The twinkle in his blue eyes would always give him away, though! My sincere condolences to his family...please know that Carl's contributions helped Tampa become the thriving city that it is today.