Dear Friends and Readers,  

It has been my privilege to have worked with John Masiarczyk since 1993 when he was the Executive Director of Deltona Area Chamber of Commerce. I was new to Deltona and he encouraged  me to get involved in the Leadership Deltona Program. John always amazed me at his depth of knowledge of such a complex area and his love of Deltona even as it struggled to be born as a city. He knew the story of every road, every lake , every park and seemly every person. Later, I worked beside him in the early days of Deltona’s incorporation where the city began without even a paper clip . a meeting place or bonding capabilities. John was visionary, strong willed, and worked tirelessly as a champion for Deltona and he challenged me to do the same. The early years required us to be creative and fiscally conservative as we built a new city hall without debt while dealing with storm water issues and outfitting a new city from scratch. 

His leadership skills strengthened over the years and he began to see Deltona not only as a  fledgling city but an important part of Volusia County and the region.  He was a respected leader  as he served on county wide boards working on complex issues such as alternative water, fire  services  and economic development projects. Over the next years, we continued to work together on community and economic issues as I led the West Volusia Chamber and John served as Deltona Mayor. Many of the projects that we worked on never came to fruition as the sand in the hour glass ran out on much of the elected leadership of southwest Volusia due to term limits. John was always a warrior when it came to protecting Deltona’s interests in a county where southwest Volusia seldom had a voice.

I have seen his leadership skills as well as his compassion during disasters and community tragedies.  

Over the years , we have remained friends . John, his beautiful wife Barbara and I have attended funerals, community events and celebrations of all kinds. For many years, we have had dinner and discussed community, state and national issues on a regular basis. John is an avid reader , a deep thinker and  has an extraordinary understanding of Deltona and the critical issues that face every day people . He is not shy about sharing his opinion and still possesses a great sense of humor. Deltona’s issues are critical and its very future is at a crossroads.

This is not a dress rehearsal. Deltona  needs strong leadership and someone who has been on stage before. 

Experience, Knowledge  and the Courage to Lead matter now more than ever.

John Masiarczyk has them all plus an unmatched love for Deltona. That’s why I’m proud to support him for Mayor. I hope you will too.      

Linda White 

Former Chamber of Commerce of West Volusia President/CEO