Candidate: D.C. Goutoufas

D.C. Goutoufas was a Tampa banker for decades.  He managed banking centers including the Downtown Tampa Wachovia Bank.  He retired from bank management at age 39 to pursue entrepreneurship.  He has operated three successful businesses over the years,  He was also an adjunct professor with the University of South Florida.  

Goutoufas has very deep roots not only in Tampa but also in America.  He’s a fourth generation Tampan and a thirteenth generation American. His great grandfather on his father’s side was the first Greek to settle in Tampa in 1887.  Goutoufas’ ancestors from his mother’s side have a family blood lineage to William Bradford, a signer of the Mayflower Compact and the Governor of the Plymouth colonies.  His mother is a certified member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  

Goutoufas is the son of a military police officer, first sergeant, and Silver Star recipient.  His father served in the Korean War with the U.S. Army.  His mother was an educator and a public school administrator in Hillsborough County and Who’s Who’s in America.  He is a proud father with one daughter, Olivia Goutoufas.

Goutoufas lost his hearing overnight when he was 4 years old.  His mother spent countless hours each day teaching him to read lips which helped him go mainstream through the Hillsborough County school system.  He graduated from Plant High School where he played baseball and football, and he went on to make local news when he became the first deaf person to graduate from the University of Tampa with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. 

WFLA Gayle Guyardo and Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto covered a thorough story on Goutoufas when he decided to go through with a cochlear implant surgery.  The journalists broadcasted Goutoufas hearing his first words, his daughter telling him, “I love you”.  The story was picked up by other news stations nationwide.  The surgical technology gave Goutoufas the ability to hear.

As a fourth generation Tampan, Goutoufas has served on several government and non-profit boards. He served on the Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Steering Committee and the City of Tampa Neighborhood Element Board. He was the Vice President of Culbreath Heights Neighborhood Civic Association. Additionally, Goutoufas was involved in lobbying the closed captioning program for government access television channels, making Hillsborough County the first to caption government access channels in America.  The City of Tampa then emulated the move to caption their televised meetings. Goutoufas also served on a task force that made Tampa International Airport more accessible for worldwide travelers through the Americans with Disabilities legislation. 

Goutoufas has received several community service awards: the “Service to Mankind Award” from the Tampa Sertoma Club, the “Outstanding Community Service Award” from former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman’s Alliance for People with Disabilities, and the “You’ve Made a Difference Award” from the Board of Hillsborough County Commissioners.