Madge Stewart of Brantley Properties entered the race for Highlands County Commissioner, District 3, on Friday, April 9, 2016.
Stewart has been a resident of Highlands County since 1983. She has a long history of business activity and community involvement in Highlands County. She and her husband, Mark Stewart, operated the Kenilworth Lodge from 1985 to 2012. She was active with the Convention and Visitors Bureau for many years, serving as marketing chairperson for three years. She participated in promoting the county, as she promoted the Kenilworth Lodge in places as far away as Pennsylvania, Michigan and London, England.
Many local residents may know Madge Stewart as one of the owners of Stewart Construction. She has worked with her husband, Mark, in the capacity of design and marketing. They have been in business in Highlands County since 1989. The company excels in remodeling, evidenced by over twenty Reader?s Choice awards. Madge has a passion for affordable housing, green building, and universal design. She has attended many national building conferences, which add to her extensive experience in the housing industry.
In 2012, Stewart became a full-time Realtor, working with Brantley Properties, Inc. of Lake Placid. She has been active as a realtor, winning awards such as ?Rookie of the Year? in 2013 and ?Association Achiever? in 2015. She was elected as Secretary to the Heartland Board of Realtors in 2015 and elected as Treasurer for 2016. Stewart is active in residential and commercial markets, with a specialty in the downtown Sebring and Lake Jackson areas. Notably, Madge was an agent involved in selling the Nancessowee and Santa Rosa hotels in Sebring. These will soon be developed into new residential apartments and breathe new life into the Sebring downtown.
Many local residents know Madge as their Weight Watchers group leader. She was with Weight Watchers from 2009-2014. During this time, she won the honors of Rookie Leader of the year 2010, Diamond Leader two years (top 10% of territory leaders – based on member success) and the Jean Nidetch Award 2013 (given to the top leader in the territory). She resigned from Weight Watchers to spend more time in her real estate profession.
Stewart was appointed to the Community Redevelopment Agency board in the fall of 2014. She has been involved in CRA projects including application approvals for fa?ade grants, restaurant advantage grants, downtown lighting projects, and the upcoming wayfinding signage project.
Stewart looks forward to serving our county in a greater capacity as commissioner. When asked what she hopes to accomplish, Stewart said, ?I would like to see smart growth; the kind that makes our businesses and buildings occupied and running at high capacity. This will create more jobs, so that our young people will have good job opportunities right here in Highlands County. I also think a real asset for Highlands County would be a Farmer?s Market. We are in the middle of one of the best agriculture areas in the state/country. Farmer?s markets are not only great for health, but also good economic engines.?
Stewart is running as a Republican for District 3, which means she will be on the August 30th county primary ballot.
For more information visit www.VoteMadgeStewart.com or email Madge Stewart at mds@votemadgestewart.com .
