Commission Chairman
Commissioner Bill Lees has been a Florida resident since 1977, living in the Iona McGregor District since 1982. He graduated from Cypress Lake High and attended Baptist College at Charleston (now Carolina Southern University). Upon returning to Fort Myers he was hired by the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District where he worked as a Firefighter/EMT, and rose through the ranks to Driver/Engineer before suffering a ‘line-of-duty’ injury. He continued to serve Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District in the position of Resource Development Officer where he managed the District’s contracted services, purchasing, public information, coordination of community outreach programs, and construction project management.
During his tenure with Fort Myers Beach, he has obtained numerous certifications in a diverse field of studies, including several National Fire Academy courses in subjects such as Fire Service Financial Management, Executive Planning, Incident Safety and Incident Command. He has also attended the Emergency Management Institute participating in real-time hurricane response, recovery and mitigation exercises with representatives of Federal, State and Local governments from throughout the world.
Chairman Lees served as the original Logistics Manager for Florida Task Force 6, a local Urban Search & Rescue Task Force that responded throughout the State of Florida for hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Dennis; performing search and rescue operations in impacted communities.
Commissioner Lees maintains membership in the Lee County Fire Chiefs’ Association, Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association, and the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association.
With twenty-five years of experience as a Firefighter and Fire Administrator, Commissioner Lees understands the needs of the community and strives to provide the highest level of emergency service available while remaining fiscally responsible to the taxpayers and planning for, and managing, the future growth of the District.