Meet Our Team

Robert was born and raised in North Carolina where he graduated from Western Carolina University. He began his career as a private club General Manager in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986. He went to work for ClubCorp and moved to Florida where he was general manager at DeBary Golf & Country Club and Countryside Country Club. He was promoted to regional manager for the northwest Florida region in 2001. He joined the team at Isla in 2009. He lives in Trinity with his wife Jill and daughter Ava. Robert enjoys the outdoors, golf, fishing and boating. His favorite activity is scuba diving with Ava.

Mike has been a part of the Isla family since 2012. Prior to, he was Controller for St. Petersburg Country Club and the Bellview Biltmore Hotel in Clearwater. He and his wife are native Floridians, and currently reside in the Old Northeast. He enjoys classical music, fine dining, and engaging conversation.

Star Garcia, is a native of Tampa Florida, and began her career with Club Corp. She has been in the private club industry over 26 years ago. In that time, she has had the privilege of serving the members as Membership Director at distinguished clubs from Tampa, Florida to Charlotte, NC. Over the years, Star has won several awards for her dedication to membership. Star's philosophy is simple, “Treat people how you would want to be treated.” Each Member and new Member feels special from the time she tours them of the property, to their entire tenure as a Member of the Club. Out of all her accomplishments, she considers her daughter, Cortney, to be her greatest blessing in life. Now, as much as she can, she spends her time playing with her grand children.

Born in Boulder, Colorado, Melissa moved to Florida in 2000 and graduated from the Rosen School of Hospitality Management at University of Central Florida in May 2004. Melissa later met her husband, Matthew, while living in Orlando and recently welcomed her daughter, Harper to the world. Melissa started her event career in the Orlando theme parks, then moved on to planning events for hotels including Ritz-Carlton, Gaylord Palms, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and many more throughout the state of Florida. Having experience in managing, planning and executing corporate events, tradeshows, association meetings, weddings and social events; Melissa soon realized her passion for weddings! In 2015, Isla Del Sol provided Melissa with an exclusive and private venue where she serves as the Director of Catering & Special Events allowing her creativity to come to life. Melissa thoroughly enjoys her passion through her career while also spending time with her family and friends.

Donna Monaco has been with Isla since 1994. She started her career at various country clubs in Palm Springs, California. She made her way to Florida and began working at Orlando Country Club before coming to Isla. At Isla, she started off as a waitress before becoming the Catering & Food and Beverage Director in 2004. In 2008, she made the change to Food and Beverage Director to focus on the Members and the Club events and has been in that role ever since. While she is not at the Club, she enjoys exploring downtown St. Pete, trying new restaurants and spending time with friends and family.

Chef Bill, is our new Executive Chef. He is from Jacksonville, Florida and has over 20 years of experience in the private Club industry with ClubCorp. This includes City Clubs and Country Clubs. One of the Country Clubs was DeBary Golf & Country Club in DeBrary, Florida with our General Manager, Robert Rankin! He has seven years of experience as a Southeastern Specialist with ClubCorp as well. When he is not working, he enjoys fishing and has owned many aquariums over the years!

Chef Dan, is our new Sous Chef. Originally from Babylon, New York, he has lived in the Tampa Bay area for the last two years. He has experience in the private Club industry, most recently in Manhattan, NY at the Colony Club. He also lived in Key West for seven years and worked on top of Mount Snow at a ski resort in Vermont! When Chef Dan is not working, he loves the outdoors and enjoys his fun in the sun at the beach. His favorite place is Honeymoon Island in Dunedin!

Dino started at Isla in 1994 after he moved to St. Pete from Morocco Casa Blanca. This was his first job in the USA coming from Morocco. When he is not at work, he enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with his two beautiful daughters.

Fred was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He grew up playing junior golf in the Atlantic City area and played four years of high school golf at Mainland Regional High School where he graduated in 1976. In 1978, Fred attended the University of Alabama where he played college golf. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing in 1983. After graduation, Fred joined the P.G.A of America and became a Class "A" member in 1988. He was the assistant professional at Ashbrook Golf Course from 1984 to 1989. He also worked as an assistant professional from 1985 through 1989 through the winter golf season. In 1990, Fred was hired by Isla Del Sol Y & CC as the Director of Golf. This is his 28th season. In 2015, Fred was named the West Central Chapter PGA Golf Professional of the Year and in 2016 he received the West Central Chapter PGA Patriot Award. He is currently serving as the West Central Chapter PGA Tournament Chairman.

An Ohio native, Kevin is a graduate of The Ohio State University. He has been the Director of Grounds at Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club since 2005. Kevin oversees the maintenance and conditioning of the golf course and grounds here at Isla and is always happy to work and communicate with our members. Not only dedicated to serving Isla, Kevin dedicates additional time and talents to serving the interests of the golf industry as a whole. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). He is also a past president of the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Florida West Coast Golf Course Superintendents Association. Kevin and his wife Melani have a son enrolled at Florida Atlantic University studying architecture and a daughter in high school.

Born in Bayshore, New York, Captain Richie moved to Florida in 1997 after graduating from Anderson University in South Carolina. He became Isla's Dockmaster in January of 2011 and lives on St. Pete Beach. He holds a 100 ton Master Captain’s license and enjoys lots of fishing, golfing and pulling parasail rides on off days.

USPTA Elite Professional Certified --1999 (Florida Tennis Association) Jr. Coach of the Year USTA High Performance Coach USTA Florida Coaches Commission USTA Junior Competition Committee

Ann joined the Isla family in April 2013. her duties include: payroll, on boarding of new hires, implementation of 401K, Workers Comp, EE Benefits, Unemployment compensation and account receivable.

Tim moved to Florida in 1972 from Zaneville, Ohio. He joined the Isla team in June of 1980 as the Head of Maintenance and has been here ever since. While Tim isn’t working, he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time on his boat.

Willie moved to Florida in 2005 and was a self-employed painter. He started at Isla in October 2007 and does some painting on the side as well. He works in the Maintenance Department with Tim. While Willie isn't working, he enjoys relaxing on the beach enjoying the Florida sun. Willie enjoys working at Isla because he says it is not just a company, but a family.

Jesse joins us from Wisconsin where he attended college at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, majoring in recording technologies and music. After college Jesse spent five years working as community services coordinator for the City of Omro followed by eight years as director of events for 168 Hospitality Group, LLC. In his spare time Jesse enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, playing guitar, and performing steel drum music live. He is excited to be a part of the Isla Del Sol team.