"I am proud of Pam's past (and upcoming) accomplishments and look forward to her continued success as a businesswoman and pioneer from Wakulla County," said County Administrator Ben Pingree.  "I am also honored that she has agreed to stay on until a replacement can be identified as the county's new Special Projects Director in order to ease this transition period.  She will be greatly missed by me, personally, and all county staff and her numerous accomplishments from her tenure serving the Wakulla County Commission will not be forgotten. During the past ten months, she has been a vital member of my executive team and has been a tremendous asset in service to the citizens of Wakulla County."

Within the months ahead, Portwood will continue her role as a leader of Wakulla County in accepting the following new professional challenges:

Florida Hydrogen Initiative, Inc., Executive Director:  FHI is a new and growing non-profit organization that works closely with the Governor's office, Congress and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to distribute EPA funding (currently $4 M) in the form of sub-grants for research, demonstration projects and public education initiatives in the emerging field of hydrogen technology.