For the past 12 years, the Plant City YMCA has hosted a Strong Leader Dinner. The dinner is held in honor of the recipient of the YMCA’s Strong Leader Award, who is handpicked by the YMCA and its staff.
This year, the YMCA chose Joe Sedita as the honoree for the 13th annual dinner.
Sedita, 67, is the founder of the accounting and financial management firms Sedita Kilton & Company and Sedita Kilton Life & Wealth Management.
Among his accomplishments include being honored as Plant City’s 2013 Outstanding Citizen of the Year for making a significant, positive impact on Plant City. He is a disaster recovery team member for the First United Methodist Church of Plant City. The team helped clean up after a tornado ravaged a town last year in Alabama. He is also a member of the Plant City Toastmasters, which he helped establish in 1985; a Boy Scout Cubmaster; assistant Scoutmaster; PTA officer; and Sunday school teacher and tutor.
Sedita has had various leadership roles in the Plant City Boys & Girls Club and Plant City Chamber of Commerce.
“My mission is to find and use my God-given gifts to make a positive difference in the world, to live adventurously, and to help and encourage the people and organizations I work with to face their fears and live their dreams” Sedita said.
Sedita’s journey in Plant City started in 1971. Sedita and his wife, Paula Sedita, found a sense of belonging when they first moved to Plant City and decided to establish themselves in the Winter Strawberry Captial of the World after realizing that it was a great place to raise children and start a business.
Shortly after starting his business, Sedita became involved in the Plant City community and continued to grow as a businessman and a role model.
“I was already an adult when we got here, but this is where I grew up,” Sedita said.
Sedita remembers one of his bravest moments in his career. It was in 1997, when Sedita was invited to speak to Plant City High School’s 1997 senior class.
“I stood in front of 500 high school seniors, spoke to them for a little more than 20 minutes and lived to tell about it,” Sedita said. “I hope they got something out of what I said.”
Working with children in the Boy Scouts and the Boys & Girls Club helped fulfill his mission to encourage and make a positive change in the world.
“I think what gave me the greatest sense of satisfaction and accomplishment over the years was working with kids,” Sedita said. “I don’t think there is anything more important that we can do than lift up kids, to encourage them and serve as a role model for them.”
In addition to his professional and community work, Sedita’s favorite hobbies are spending time with his family, traveling, public speaking and kayaking.
Sedita retired from his CPA firm in 2014 and has since been spending some time in Tennessee with Paula Sedita. He expects to return to Plant City for the dinner and enjoy time with friends he hasn’t seen in a while.
“Being the honoree at this year’s dinner is humbling, of course, and scary, too, in some sense,” Sedita said.
Scary because Sedita is sometimes uncomfortable being in the spotlight. Regardless, it doesn’t take away from how grateful he feels about the honor, and he is looking forward to the night .
“I think we will laugh a lot at the dinner,” Sedita said. “I’ll probably do some squirming, there may be a tear or two, but most of all, I hope we raise a significant amount of money for the Y.”
All proceeds from the dinner benefit children and families in Plant City through YMCA programs and services.
– By Jose Lozoya
Strong Leader Award Dinner Honoring Joe Sedita
When: Tuesday, Aug 25
Cocktails: 6:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.
Program: 8 p.m.
Where: John R. Trinkle Center at HCC campus in Plant City, 1206 N. Park Road