IN MEMORIAM | Wendel Kent 1924-2017

A trio of well-connected Sarasota business executives, over lunch one day in 1982, decided they could no longer stay quiet against what they considered an unfriendly business environment. They specifically geared up to contest a proposed two-year moratorium on new construction.

The potential ban failed. And the three executives and friends kept the momentum. They launched a pro-business organization, the Argus Foundation, which still exists today.

One of those executives was Wendel Kent. A World War II veteran and Cornell-educated civil engineer, Kent had both worked for the city of Sarasota and started and ran several successful businesses. Fellow Argus co-founder Charlie Stottlemyer says Kent truly shined in times like those — where he could both galvanize others toward a cause and work behind the scenes.