The Friends of the Legacy Trail’s new president is Louis Kosiba of Lakewood Ranch. He became president effective June 1, 2019 replacing Roger Normand who will remain very active in FLT as vice-president and Chair of the Trails Extension Committee. Lou comes to us from the Chicago area where he enjoyed the Illinois Prairie Path which links the Chicago suburb of Maywood to the cities of Elgin and Joliet along the scenic Fox River.

Lou has Juris Doctor and Masters in Business Administration degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He last worked for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund ( IMRF ) from 1988 through 2017. He served as IRMF General Counsel and then Executive Director for the period of July, 2001 through December 2017. IMRF provided death, disability and retirement benefits for employees of units of local government throughout the Illinois. He oversaw a staff of 200 which in turn served 300,000 active and retired members. Assets totaled $40 billion.

He hopes to apply his experience as an attorney and business leader to his role as FLT President. His vision for the FLT Board of Directors is to:

• ensure the board is an effective advocate for The Legacy Trail as it expands to downtown Sarasota and connects with North Port,
• fulfill the organization’s mission statement, and
• effectively communicate the interests and concerns of its members and Trail users to the three cities touching the Trail, Sarasota County, and the State of Florida.

His vision for The Legacy Trail is to ensure it remains the premier trail in southwest Florida; and, that it becomes a historic, social, recreational and artistic magnet for Floridians and visitors from throughout the United States and the world.