Ted E deGroot

After college and service to his country, DeGroot began his first career in the audio / video area by working for a television station in Flint, Michigan. After a short stent in live television he moved to an advertising agency in Detroit where among other responsibilities he was the radio and television producer for the Detroit Red Wings. He left the agency side to concentrate on the production side of film and television and in only a few years he was creating, producing and directing the production of appeal campaigns for the United Fund, commercials for the Big Three automakers and television specials for a variety of purposes and part of the team that developed the "Be All You Can Be" campaign for the US Army. During this period he was President of the the Detroit Producers Association and involved in businesses as varied as the restaurant and storage businesses. After thirty years in the film and video production he sold that business and moved to Florida. Since moving to Florida, DeGroot has been involved in promoting Florida destination quality resorts to tourists around the world that included opening one of the first internet directories generally referred to now as a search engine, the selling of books via the Internet, the brokerage of businesses and the marketing of fine residences. He has served on a variety on not-for-profit boards of directors: He is a past board member and committee chair for his pervious homeowner association and the Declaration Revision Committee for his current homeowners association; he is a past board member and committee chair of the Friends of Fakahatchee, a citizens support organization for the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park; he is a member and board director of the East Naples Civic and Commerce Association, an organization that works to maintain and improve the quality of life and business on the inland side of Naples, Florida; he is a past board member of East Naples Kiwanis and a current member of Naples Kiwanis, a service organization dedicated to helping the kids that need help the most; he is a board director for the East Naples Foundation, a fund raising and support organization for local residents of the area; he is a past board member and officer and winner of the most coveted award offered by the Naples Players, Inc, a nonprofit community theater and one of America’s premier community theaters; is a Subject Matter Expert for SCORE, the national support organization for entrepreneurs; and continues to be actively involved in other activities related to improving the quality of life. It is as the result of serving on two nonprofit boards at the same time, one well organized, one disorganized and minimally effective (until he championed a number of operation changes), he became the author of a book dealing with the governance of nonprofit organizations. DeGroot has been an active runner, enjoys both golf and sailing, and mucking in the Everglades. Prior to moving to southwest Florida, he was an avid duck hunter, a weekend downhill skier, a camper known to test his mettle by combining cross country skiing and winter tent camping along the shores of Lake Superior. He has traveled fairly extensively, visiting all the States and all provinces of Canada except for Nunavik, including a drive to Alaska with a side trip to Inuvik, Northwest Territories and another to drive to Labrador and Newfoundland. He has visited or worked in Europe, northern Africa and southern South America and touched on Antarctica.