Candidate: Sara Comander

Sara Comander has given a life of service to the families and people of Walton County. She has been a resident and businesswoman in Walton County for 40 years. She is past president of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and the Panhandle Funeral Director’s Association. She was chairman of the DeFuniak Springs Centennial Committee, the founder of Hometown Christmas and founder of DeFuniak Springs Fourth of July Celebration. Comander is the former co-owner of Comander Funeral Home and WGTX Radio Station and was formerly employed by Walton County Judicial system, Clerk of Court’s office, and public information coordinator for Walton County. She was Chairman of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners in 2009, the first woman to hold this position. Currently, she is Commissioner for District Four and president of the DeFuniak Springs Business & Professional Association. She helped found the Walton County Economic Development Alliance and was the first chairman of the organization in 2009. She is also chairman of the visioning process for Walton County, “Walton County Down the Road.” One of her initiatives is to eradicate Cogon grass throughout the County. Having been raised in the country and as a teenager worked at Silver Springs, she is also a strong advocate for ecotourism, biking and hiking trails and canoe trails. Comander is currently on the executive board of the Gulf Consortium and is working with 22 other coastal counties to bring RESTORE Act funds to help solve environmental and stormwater problems in the county and region. She is also on the executive board of the Small County Coalition and works to bring State dollars to local and rural roads, and other issues that face small Florida counties. As a strong voice for state funding for roads in Walton County, she is past chairman and still serves on the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization. After a two-year struggle in February of 2014 she convinced the Florida Department of Transportation to put a much needed traffic signal in Geronimo Street in Miramar Beach. Over the years, Sara Comander has been recognized for her hard work and devotion. She was the Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in 1991 and the Chamber Outstanding Volunteer in 1993. She was given the 1995 YMCA Directors Award, and the Outstanding Service Award from D.B.P.A. Comander was also Walton County Press Club News Maker of the Year, in 2001 and named the City of DeFuniak Outstanding Volunteer in 2002. She has two daughters and five grandchildren.
Updated campaign information can be found on her website, www.saracomander.com. You can also like her on Facebook and follow the campaign.