40 Under 40

Cindy Starnes
Age: 39
Position: Senior account executive
Oswald, Trippe and Company

Why her:
This altruistic all-star coupled her philanthropic spirit with her dancin’ shoes when she spearheaded plans for the inaugural Star Struck gala to benefit the American Red Cross. Starnes incorporated her passion, ballroom dancing, into the event and made it a Dancing with the Stars-type soiree, which attracted a crowd. It netted $70,000, all of which went toward the organization that helped her family in an especially tough time.

“I remember after Hurricane [Charley], the Red Cross truck coming through [Sanibel] when my dad was working on the roof,” she says. “It was so welcomed to have hot meals when he was trying to protect our home.”

Starnes, a former pharmaceutical rep who saw firsthand the effects of heart disease, especially on unsuspecting women, started helping the American Heart Association and its annual Heart Ball in 2004. In addition, she donates time to Junior Achievement and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber’s Women in Business group.

Where does this drive come from? “I’m a [Fort Myers] native, my dad grew up here, and my grandfather is one of the founding partners of Henderson Franklin. They were all involved and on local boards,” she says. “I guess you could say it kind of runs in the family.”

Off the Clock:
Ask her to whip up her blasted chicken. “Cooking is very therapeutic,” she says.

Trey Ward
Age: 33
Position: Owner, general manager
Val Ward Cadillac

Why him:
Under Ward’s management, the business earned the distinction of being the No. 1 certified, pre-owned Cadillac dealership in the United States, and has won numerous national awards for top performance in customer service and satisfaction. Honors include Cadillac’s Master Dealer Award, recognizing top dealers in the country.

But other things are just as important to Ward—such as his employees, he says. “I have eight employees who have been here over 20 years and three over 30.” Providing a good work environment and treating them like family encourages good employees to stick with him, he says.
After attending Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, in 1996 he joined the family business, which was started by his grandfather in 1970. He now co-owns the business with his father, company president Val Ward Jr.

Ward ensures the dealership’s contributions to the community through support for the Canterbury School, the University of Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University. His company also supports the Bobby Nichols-Fiddlesticks Charity Foundation, which raises money for children’s charities, as well as Habitat for Humanity.

Off The Clock:
Ward frequents Beaver Creek, Colo., with his wife and two daughters to ski.

Amanda Wilson Watkins
Age: 33
Position: Vice president of sales and marketing
Bonita Bay Group

Why her:
With 13 years of sales and marketing experience in Colorado, Georgia and Alabama, she came to Southwest Florida last October to help Bonita Bay deal with the area’s sluggish housing market.
“What’s called upon in this market right now is not business as usual,” Watkins says. She’s working with the company to help it stand out in a crowded marketplace, to better understand its customers and to satisfy unmet needs that will create “raving fans.”

She got into the real estate business while still in college at the University of South Alabama and worked her way up, learning from her co-workers and peers in professional organizations. She especially relishes the opportunities she has now to help create new communities. “The legacy you leave behind is much greater than yourself,” Watkins says.

She has volunteered with organizations including the American Cancer Society and The Children’s Hospital, Colorado. Watkins has served in leadership positions with Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta and Denver, as well as Healthcare for the Homeless, which provides critical health services to indigent people.

“I feel so blessed, and so assisting others fulfill basic human needs such as shelter and primary healthcare is gratifying,” she says.

Off the clock:
On any Saturday, you might find Watkins and her husband riding their bikes 40 to 50 miles.

Beverley Watson-Horsted
Age: 32
Position: Owner
Dial-A-Cook PCS Inc.

Why her:
Beverley Watson-Horsted has parlayed her training as a nutritionist, her love for being in the kitchen and her desire to spend more time with her two children into a successful personal-chef business.

Cooking everything from a dinner for two to hors d’oeuvres for hundreds, Watson-Horsted’s Dial-A-Cook clients have included athletes, affluent retirees, bachelors and professional couples. Her personal touch includes an in-depth questionnaire to determine clients’ preferences, from food styles and cuts of steak down to whether they want sauces served on the side.

Since starting the business in 2001, she’s donated her time and energy to Share our Strength (SOS), a national organization fighting to end hunger, and other charities. Watson-Horsted hopes to organize an SOS Great American Bake Sale in Southwest Florida to raise money for the group and to teach children’s nutrition and wellness classes here.

In the meantime, she’s created a work schedule that allows her to take her kids to school and eat supper with them.

“I just really aim to please the client and to cook meals that are within their taste buds.”

Off the clock:
Watson-Horsted oil paints and plays the organ.

Carlos Zapata
Age: 29
Position: Senior producer and news anchor, D’Latinos al Dia
Azteca America Southwest Florida

Why him:
Zapata knows his viewers—and he’s helping them integrate into Southwest Florida’s Anglo society and telling them news that can have an impact on their lives.

He recalls covering the arrests of illegal immigrants last year and the emotions that surrounded it. “That was really hard work,” he says. “One mother told me how immigration [agents took] her son from her house, all the pain that passed through it.”

Educated in Ecuador, where he worked for a TV station and newspaper, Zapata moved here in 2004 to be closer to his parents, who live in Naples. He worked odd jobs, including housecleaning, before becoming a news anchor two years ago on the live morning show D’Latinos al Dia, which airs weekdays on Comcast Channel 8.

“I didn’t speak English when I moved here, so I tried to practice and learn. I had different jobs, and those jobs helped me out a lot and gave me confidence with my English. My ambition in those years was that I had to live as the people that I’m going to be talking with,” he says.