Many of us are used to the idea of charitable giving, but few of us raise money for charities or

non-profit foundations. David Bakelman, a Bayou Club resident, does both. When asked why he does what so few others do, he answered simply, “I love making a difference.” Being raised in the Jewish faith reinforced his value system to give back to others. He always knew he wanted to provide executive leadership to non-profits, and with that in mind, he achieved a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Florida State University. Early in his career, he worked with the United Way of Metro Atlanta as the chief fundraising executive and helped to raise more than a quarter of a billion dollars for nonprofits.

David’s love for Florida began with his matriculation to Eckerd College to play baseball. He’s moved around a lot since then, including stops in Atlanta and Philadelphia where he ran a national health organization. He spent twenty-five years in Atlanta running nonprofits involving celebrities including Richard Branson, Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, actor Robert Redford, musicians Peter Frampton, Zac Brown, Lee Ann Rimes, NSYNC, and many more. He returned to Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) as the CEO of a South Florida charity raising money for cancer research at the University of Miami Health System. As a well-known ‘fixer’ for underperforming healthcare organizations and charitable foundations, David skillset was in demand.

In 2017 he met Elizabeth (who hails from Barrie, Ontario, north of Toronto) in Ft. Lauderdale, where she was consulting as Creative Director for an event design school. Her consulting included launching a new brick-and-mortar school location, writing their curriculum, developing an online school, restructuring their traveling school, and developing a marketing plan.

David and Elizabeth were prepared to move together to Washington, D.C., in 2020 for David’s new position as CEO of a national healthcare organization just as the Covid pandemic was ramping up. They had acquired a leased apartment in D.C., but could not find a moving company due to Covid. The outcome was they began working virtually and immediately looked at moving to the Tampa Bay area.

David and Elizabeth both had ties to this area: her parents had been coming to winter in St. Petersburg for 35 years, and his daughter lives in St. Petersburg. They moved to this coast three years ago. They like the mid-western feel here and the quality of life compared to the hustle and bustle of South Florida (which David called the “6th borough of NY.”). In Ft. Lauderdale, they lived in a beachfront condominium, but Elizabeth wanted a home with a fenced yard. David wanted a “sense of community”, so they agreed on a home in the Bayou Club with a beautiful lake-water view. They are happy not to have to take elevators or rain gear to walk their dog “Django.” They also have a new cat, “Tobias.”

Before moving to the USA, Elizabeth owned two high-end event design & planning firms in Toronto and Muskoka. When she moved to Ft. Lauderdale, she sold them and segued into working as a consultant. Presently, Elizabeth runs a marketing firm called ‘Launch My Media’ with two national non-profit clients. She does website design, copywriting, content creation, and business consulting. She also has a passion for small business development. She has written books on event and floral design for her school, and e-books on photo shoot design and marketing for the events industry.

For the last few years, David has been raising money for one of the largest U.S. based humanitarian aid organizations for Ukraine. Before the war with Russia, the organization raised fifty thousand dollars. After the full-scale invasion started, the figure rose to fifty million in just three months! Although he has no ties to Ukraine, he was the first American hired by the non-profit. David estimates that it will take 10-15 years to rebuild Ukraine.

To meet new people, David joined the Bayou Club Board soon after their move to Pinellas Park.

His non-profit experience, as well as stints on other boards, makes him a valuable contributor to the functioning of the Board. He began as the Chair of the Communications Committee but recently began serving as Vice President. David says of his Board experience so far, “I love it.” His “take” on the Board is that it’s comprised of dedicated individuals who “only care about what’s best for the community and residents.” Although they all have strong opinions and some heated disagreements, they often “agree to disagree” and then go out for dinner and drinks.

David and Elizabeth decided to put their combined marketing skills to use by creating and producing the Bayou Club’s first-ever e-mail newsletter called The Beacon. David feels they are making great progress in building a sense of community for all residents. Elizabeth handles all the design and copywriting, and her company is the sole sponsor. They started the monthly email newsletter to improve communication among residents. The newsletter highlights community events, board updates, day trips, local business features, and a volunteer corner to encourage residents to volunteer in our local community.

David started a quarterly lecture series at the Clubhouse that has so far featured Jerry Colen’s presentation on the Civil War and a Holocaust memorial presentation by the son of survivors. Next on the schedule is a talk about cybersecurity. David also started a Bayou Club Men’s Group and recently held an outing to the Tampa Bay Auto Museum and has a 2025 Bayou Club community cruise in the works.

Elizabeth hosted the first women’s event in February at the Clubhouse with local fashion vendors. She is planning a women’s outing for “high tea” in May. David also hopes to start a charitable guild in the Bayou Club, to support local nonprofits including "Residents’ Hope", a charity started by Bayou Club residents Barbara Rotunda and Jean Tortorella. David and Elizabeth are very complimentary of our new management company, ‘West Coast Management’, and especially of Marty Burke our on-site property manager.

David and Elizabeth married in 2023 and both have children from previous marriages. Elizabeth’s daughter, Brittany, lives in Calgary and utilizes creativity talents inherited from her Mom in her own graphic design business, Zippy G. Son Travis lives in Ontario and works in the steel industry. David’s daughter Rachael, lives in St. Petersburg and is a Nurse Practitioner. She plans to partner with a friend and fellow Nurse Practitioner to expand their downtown St. Petersburg clinic. There are no grandchildren presently, but there is hope that there will be one or two in the future.

The Bakelman’s love live theater and concerts. Their favorite venues are Francis Wilson Playhouse, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and the Capital Theater, all in Clearwater. They visit Pinellas County art festivals often and love to travel. They are planning their next trip as Elizabeth just received her green card.