In Memoriam: Kathy Baylis 1948-2015

Venice businessman C.J. Fishman, a gregarious and sociable entrepreneur, had many memorable encounters with his close friend Kathy Baylis, a leader in Sarasota County economic development for 20 years.

Fishman, president of Fishman and Associates, a commercial kitchen firm, recalls one time when several fellow Venice powerbrokers met with Baylis at the old Smitty's Restaurant. The group was there to chat about improving the business climate in Venice with Baylis, then president of the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce.

The four men ordered drinks. An Absolut on the rocks, a Rum and Coke. Baylis, always in control, ordered a ginger ale. That prompted some laughter, and some friendly ribbing. So Baylis switched her order to a Whiskey and 7 Up. “We weren't going to sit and drink with her if she had a ginger ale,” Fishman recalls with a chuckle.