Longtime, vocal leader of prominent Sarasota builders group retires

One of the more prominent advocates for the commercial building and construction industry in Sarasota-Manatee market, Mary Dougherty, has retired.

Dougherty had been executive director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange since 2009. The Lakewood Ranch-based organization, with a presence in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties, named entrepreneur and former ad executive Elizabeth Shore as its new executive director. Shore’s father is the late R.B. “Chips” Shore, who was Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for nearly 40 years; Shore died while in office, having filed to run for a 10th term, in July 2015.