Over a career spanning more than six decades, including more than two decades in the Florida Keys, Judy Hull has retired as the executive director of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since early 2005. The common denominator to her successes in Islamorada and the Keys goes back to her varied and accomplished career.
Born and raised on a farm in Arkansas near the Tennessee border, her career has its roots in the deep South with her first job at 17 years old at an investment banking firm in Memphis. This eventually took her to New York City for a couple years. When she and her husband at the time were starting a family, she returned south to Little Rock, Arkansas.
“We lived in Greenwich Village. I worked on Wall Street, loved my job and NYC,” she said. “I loved everything about it. Then we were starting a family and it wasn’t the place to raise children. Growing up on the Mississippi Delta, I was immersed in nature. The only places that had trees in the city were at parks. I didn’t want that for my kids.”
After a few years off to raise her three sons — Stephen, Shannon and Stuart — she went back into investment banking before landing a position in tourism which lasted for 15 years. She first covered a regional area, which grew to the entire state, then 10 states plus two Canadian provinces.
For the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans, with the theme of “The World of Rivers: Fresh Water as a Source of Life,” Hull dreamed up the construction of a true-to-size replica of the Delta Queen, an extravagant river steamboat first in service in 1927. It became the most popular exhibit in the fair.
“That riverboat replica then became a welcome center for Greenville, Mississippi,” she said. “It got the attention of the department of transportation, national organizations and Washington, D.C.”
It also led to opportunities to travel and work in Australia. “Members of their Parliament came to the fair since the River Murray was drying up,” she said. “I got a call from a member telling me how much they loved the exhibit and invited me to consult with them. I floated along the southern Australia coast for a month, with my young grandson Maximus, sharing my work in regional and state tourism. I advised them to look for the tourism value and start promoting it, and stressed the importance of historic and environmental preservation.”
Another opportunity took her to Japan when officials there wanted to learn more about the 10 states along the Mississippi River. “I traveled to Tokyo and Osaka, sharing my experiences in promoting a large region. We served hot dogs, popcorn and brownies to large crowds.”
Other travels took her throughout Canada and she spoke in Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Senate about the importance of water.
Near the end of her tenure in Little Rock, she worked with Bill Clinton, then Arkansas’ governor. “Hillary (Clinton) and I connected over trash, recycling, and community cleanups. We care about the amount of waste in our environment and wanted to do something about it.”
“Here I am still talking about it,” Hull said. “Everything in my career is connected.”
After 15 years in Arkansas and in a 10-year relationship with her now-husband Steve, she moved again. “He was offered a job in Columbia, Missouri, and asked me to marry him. We moved and got married.”
She landed a job focused on downtown redevelopment in a special business district. Here she honed her skills of bringing competing forces together to accomplish the job.
“I was responsible to two nonprofit boards and had to find a way for them to work together,” she said. “At the time, only college students lived and partied downtown late into the evenings. We needed a better area to live, work and play. We cleaned up alleyways, improved access to side streets, installed lighting, added art galleries, bars, coffee shops and second-floor apartments. We made the district safe, vibrant and welcoming.”
She created a weekly twilight festival with music, art and horse-drawn carriages. “When I started the job, there were vacancies all over,” she recalls, “and by the time I left there was a waitlist of businesses interested in moving downtown.”
After 10 years in Missouri, she moved to Broward County.
“I ultimately wanted to come to the Keys but this was the first stop,” she said. She eventually landed a job planning and executing more than 80 weekend-long festivals a year throughout the United States.
From left, Judy Hull, Stephanie Scuderi and Holly Raschein. CONTRIBUTED 
Judy Hull with chef Wes Brage. The event was a fundraiser for the Chef Ben’s Family Fun, held after chef Ben Coole’s unexpected death. He was the executive chef at Ziggie & Mad Dog’s at the time of passing and had two daughters in their early teens. CONTRIBUTED 
“I wanted to be an interior designer growing up,” she said. “I love color and symbolism. Working with artists was wonderful. They are the best, most creative, kind and sensitive people.”
Then an opportunity arose in Islamorada. The chamber was experiencing three years of director turnover when she saw a newspaper classified ad about the open position.
“I drove down to the chamber office and dropped off my resume,” she said. “No sooner, I am driving back north and my phone rings. The board president wanted to meet with me right away. I turned around and went straight to Ed’s office at then-named Holiday Isle for an interview.”
Ed Kinkelaar, formerly director of operations of the storied resort, interviewed her. After consulting with Deb Gillis, the board’s president-elect at the time, they hired her. Hull started in the position in February 2005.
“She is my legacy,” Kinkelaar said. “I can still picture the interview with Judy and her walking to my office across the parking lot. She gave a very strong first impression and had impressive qualifications and experience.”
Said Gillis, now an Islamorada council member, “I am very proud to say that I was a part of bringing Judy to Islamorada. Our community is much better for her being here.”
Hull brought her career experiences and successes to the new role.
Over the decades, the Islamorada Chamber occupied several locations, including the red caboose at MM 83 and in a strip of offices that once stood where Publix is now. In June 2013, a move was made to Founders Park in a building which once served as a hotel lobby. Cale Smith was president. Before moving in, six months of renovation occurred.
“That move to Founders was a great example of what made Judy so wonderful in that job,” Smith said. “She had a clear vision of what our own building could be, even if not everyone could see it at first. And then she held everyone to a high standard while she just kept working hard at it, for a long time, to make sure it was a success. At the end of the project, she also built this iconic new landmark for the whole town.”
Rob Stober, current chamber president, echoed that assessment. “We have a permanent home because of her, in a flagship location.”
Former chamber employee and artist Morna Strengholt worked in the former location.
“She grew the chamber and, I think, the sense of community,” Strengholt said. “Certainly the chamber building at Founders is part of her legacy.”
Above Hull’s desk in her office hangs a framed rendering of the building concept.
“The building is a true rival of the scenic highway designation as far as a lasting impact,” Hull said.
The All-American Highway designation for U.S. 1-Overseas Highway was not part of the core job responsibilities of running a chamber, yet Hull saw it as an economic boon to Islamorada and all the Keys.
In 2001, the then-Corridor Advocacy Group through Clean Florida Keys earned the highway a designation of the Florida Keys Scenic Highway by the Florida Department of Transportation. Hull saw an opportunity for more.
“It was absolutely important and no one was doing it,” Hull said of applying for the federal designation. In 2007 Florida Keys Scenic Corridor Alliance was formed with the goal of earning the Overseas Highway a national designation of an All-American Road, a program run by the Federal Highway Administration. After two years of work by the committee, the highest federal designation for a scenic highway was granted in October 2009.
The mission was accomplished through updating a management plan and completing an interpretative master plan. The plans focused on historic preservation, ecological preservation, aesthetics, community participation and improving the visitor experience.
In a 2025 newsletter from the Florida Scenic Highways Programs announcing her retirement from the committee, Hull was celebrated for “a legacy of leadership and heart,” as the headline read. “Her first mission was to restore partnerships across the Keys. Judy worked tirelessly with local chambers, FDOT, Monroe County, municipal governments and regional advocacy groups to reestablish a strong leadership foundation.”
Michael Palozzi, an FDOT-contracted engineer and byways specialist, worked with the committee.
“If it wasn’t for Judy, it wouldn’t have happened. She kind of locked the committee in a room until the plan was written,” he said. “It was a first for Florida and today there are only two, the second being A1A in St. Johns and Flagler counties. This is as significant as (U.S.) Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway. She brought the key people together and found the right balance for them to work together. Up until her retirement from the committee last year, her energy for overseeing the designation responsibilities never dwindled.”
As the president of the alliance, Hull said at the time of the designation that “the All-American Road designation will bring status to us with international travelers and domestic visitors, so that they know driving U.S. 1 from Key Largo to Key West is a one-of-a-kind driving experience. It will help us with tourism and future highway grant funding.”
In recognition of her passion and dedication toward the effort and ongoing commitment, Hull was honored by the Florida Scenic Byways Program with the Garry Balough Inspiring Excellence award in 2019.
Chamber events expanded under Hull’s leadership. Hull introduced Holiday Fest, which has been held the first Friday of December since her first year in 2005. The beloved community event features a different theme annually, a parade, a 35-foot holiday tree blasting “snow,” a holiday bazaar, artist-painted ornament auction and activities for children of all ages.
“Holiday Fest is my baby,” Hull said. “I couldn’t imagine that we didn’t have a holiday celebration. It was created as a community event, not a fundraiser. In a previous job, I had Easter eggs painted by artists, so why not Christmas ornaments. The first year was low-budget and sponsors helped to get the tree purchased. It was 30 feet. In future years, we added another five feet.”
“She started Holiday Fest and brought in the Christmas tree,” Kinkelaar said. “She had the connections to bring in arts and quality leading to our events taking off. She brought a universal community spirit to our town through the business community.”
Each year, 30 tons of ice and a chipper were trekked in on three semi tractor trucks for the event revered and hated, depending on perspective.
“One year, my worst nightmare came true,” Hull said. “One of the semis broke down in Homestead and the snow mound couldn’t happen. I hated disappointing the kids. It was awful.”
Just months into the new role, Taste of Islamorada was Hull’s first event. It was originally held on the tennis courts at Cheeca Lodge. It grew to become Island Fest over two weekend days, at Founders Park with bands, artists, vendors, and activities for all ages. The Taste became the main draw on Sundays.
Since Hull’s previous job was planning art festivals all over the country, she had plenty of contacts to draw on.
“I called all my artists friends in South Florida inviting them to display at the event. I knew a sand sculpturist who created the first ever large-scale sand castle on the beach; artist Keith Bradley made the dolphin-with-a-heart sculpture that remains in use today for kids to paint. I love art and color. I incorporated these elements in my first year and did so for 20 more years.
“My first year on the job I went to the Coconut Grove Art Show, searching for artists to invite to Island Fest. Outside one store there was a group of musicians playing as I walked by. I listened and stopped in my tracks. It was Josh Rowand and the Pit Bull of Blues band. I invited them to perform at the event and they have returned every year since. They will perform for me one last time at my final party (which was on Oct. 18).”
Countless memories have been made over two decades in Islamorada, with one standing out.
“Every year at Island Fest, we present a best of show award and most creative artisan award to two artists,” Hull said. “Every time it is touching to me, but the year we presented the best of show award to Miquel Rodriguez was quite emotional. He never missed a show, even when being treated for cancer. Sharing that emotion with him is a memory that sticks.”
No job or career is without its challenges. Aside from a no-show snow mound, other challenges during her time in Islamorada included the BP oil spill, a fire on New Year’s Eve that burned down significant parts of Cheeca, and COVID.
“We couldn’t have Island Fest for two years, our biggest fundraiser of the year.”
As retirement looms, she is happy and sad.
“Of all the things I know how to do, I don’t know how to quit.”
She plans to continue as a member of Upper Keys Rotary, a club she joined 20 years ago when Joe Roth was president. Hull and her husband have no plans to leave Islamorada. They will travel and spend time with family, including her seven grandchildren.
“We have a cruise planned in April taking us around the coasts of Spain and Portugal,” she said.
“My family has been involved alongside me at events. All my sons have been at the top of the holiday tree. Of course, my grandson Maximus was by my side for most of my tenure as I raised him here. Granddaughter Hunter surprised me at Holiday Fest last year. She flew here to help and just showed up. She said she wanted to experience it. She had so much fun, she returned for Island Fest.”
While no one is irreplaceable, Hull leaves the proverbial big shoes to fill. Katie Brennan was recently announced as the incoming executive director, starting mid-October.
“If I could offer advice to my successor it would be to be honest, be kind and stay current.”
