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.

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.

Jessie has spent many years in the hotel food, beverage and catering service business. She has worked for Marriott for many years and has received extensive training in Marriott’s Service Excellence and Executive Operations programs. She was most recently Sales & Catering Manager at Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites on Sand Key. Jessie is a second generation St Pete “native” and is thrilled to call Isla her new home. Please join us in welcoming Jessie to the Isla family.

Chef Bill, 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 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.

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.

Carrie joins the Isla family with background in Marketing, Communications and Design. On most weekends, you can find her relaxing on our beautiful beaches or exploring new restaurants with her daughter.

After living in Michigan for 46 years, Sherri moved to Florida & she’ll never move back! Sherri joined Isla in 2019 as our weekend receptionist & is now working full-time as our receptionist/member relations assistant. Her background includes 22 years as a legal secretary. She enjoys assisting our members & is always willing to help!