FORT PIERCE – Upon his resignation Aug. 14, St. Lucie County Administrator George Landry will become the second county administrator to jump ship for Long Boat Key, following in the steps of his predecessor Howard Tipton, who resigned from the same position in early 2023 to head up that tony island community.

Landry began with St. Lucie County as Human Resources & Risk Manager in 2013 after a two-decade stint in the U.S. Army, eventually working his way up to the directorship of the Public Utilities and Solid Waste Division. He had only worked as as deputy county administrator for a couple of months prior to being tapped to fill the void left by Tipton after county commissioners chose him over several other candidates. He believes the 20 years he dedicated to the U.S. Military prepared him well for a second career in public service.

“I worked in a high operational tempo during my service,” he said. “When I transitioned to the local government role, I wanted to work with the same intensity serving the people of St. Lucie County. I believe the people we serve deserve high performance and an organization they can feel safe with and trust in to be there in times of need.”

Landry, 54, also credits the military for his proficiency at multitasking and his ability at second guessing potential outcomes, abilities that have helped him be a better county employee and departmental leader.

“In the military there were a lot of conflicts, which required critical thinking with no chance to alter those decisions on the battlefield,” he explained of his Iraq and Afghanistan tours where he earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. “When you’re serving the residents, you want the decisions you make to not create other hardships. You’re trying to consider two or three moves ahead. I think of your decision as the rock you throw into the pond and the second and third ripples in the pond as a result. You want to make sure those ripples don’t create a negative impact and an unintended consequence of what you wanted with your original splash.”

A native of Michigan, Landry followed his high school graduation with a four-year stint in the Army before returning home to be with his wife and growing family. The 9/11 terrorist attacks prompted his reenlistment, however, and a family vacation to Florida in 2010 between his Iraq and Afghanistan deployments forever altered his post-military residency.

“My wife fell in love with Florida and jokingly told me she was going to move to Florida while I was overseas because she got tired of doing Michigan winters by herself,” he recalled. “When I left for Afghanistan, she packed up the six kids, found a place in St. Lucie County and moved there.”

Over the last 13 years, Landry and his family have grown to call Florida home and grown exponentially to include nine grandchildren. He insists it was never in his long-range plans to leave the area and move some three hours to the west, although he had visited Tipton on more than one occasion during the last few years.

Upon Tipton’s decision to resign this year, he didn’t hesitate recommending Landry as his replacement, which got the wheels in motion for the current St. Lucie County administrator’s transition himself.

Even though Landry understands there’ll be some differences going from managing a county of more than 413,000 residents to an island town whose population swells to less than 25,000 in the high season, he believes his former boss and predecessor will leave him a smooth path to ascend.

“I think it’s going to be a little of the same and a little different,” he added. “My gathering is that things work a little different on the west coast of Florida than on the east coast. Long Boat is still trying to work with Federal Emergency Management Agency to get reimburses from the two hurricanes that decimated the town. I know that Tipton’s on top of everything, so that will be a pretty easy transition. My first day will probably be his last day, but the week before I plan to attend a few meetings as a volunteer.”

Although Landry’s excited about his rapidly approaching change of scenery, he describes it as a bitter-sweet departure. He plans to spend his last decade in public service at his destination and believes he and his wife Judy will return to St. Lucie County afterward to be near their children and grandchildren.

“I never thought I would leave the county but hated to pass up the opportunity,” he concluded. “I spent a lot of years here, so it’s really tough to walk away from a lot of colleagues and friendships. I love this place, and our residents are the best. I will miss serving them the most.”