St. Petersburg is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere, but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench Monthly shines a light on one of the many people who make our city unique.
This month’s focus is on the City of St. Petersburg’s municipal recycling manager, Jeff Donnel. As part of the city’s sanitation division, the recycling department plays an integral role in the effort to reduce the amount of trash that ends up in a landfill or an incinerator. It’s an ongoing challenge, but the opportunity to be of service attracted Donnel to the job.
From Long Beach to St. Pete
The son of a career military father, Donnel and his family moved frequently, never living in one place for more than three years. When his dad retired and they settled in California, he was happy to finish high school in the San Joaquin Valley and spend his college years at Fresno State. After graduating, he headed south to work for Neutrogena / Johnson & Johnson, making Long Beach his new home. After 20 successful years as an IT Product Manager with the company, he chose to leave rather than relocate to New Jersey. Instead, he and his wife, Ali, headed to Florida to begin a new path. They spent some time living on the other coast, and then a few years in Tampa, where Donnel’s love of cooking inspired him to start a catering business. Then they visited some friends in St. Petersburg. One trip across the bridge was enough to convince them they had found what they had been looking for. Soon after, the couple relocated.
Proud to Be Part of the Team
Making the tough decision that the catering business was not working out as he hoped, Doonnel began looking for a new career. He was proud of his work at Johnson & Johnson and in catering, and he hoped to find something that offered that same sense of accomplishment. He also was drawn to the idea of service. When the city needed someone with tech abilities to help instigate its recycling program, the work looked to be a perfect fit. Nearly four years later, the program has grown, and Donnel rose quickly from tech support to manager.
Loving the St. Pete Vibe
The Donnels’ instincts also were right on. They settled into a 1940s bungalow in the Old Northeast with their two Clumber Spaniels, Riley and Sophie. All four of them love it here! Like Long Beach, St. Petersburg has a small-town feel with big-city offerings in a beautiful locale. Any given night or weekend, you may find them enjoying the view as they walk along Coffee Pot Bayou or heading toward downtown to take advantage of everything that the city has to offer. They continue to love the vibe, and they are happy they can now call St. Pete home, sweet home.
