Ward 5

Fred Burson is a native of Fort Myers with both sides of his family migrating south from Georgia at the turn of the century. Fred is a licensed Real Estate Instructor and owner of an on-line real estate school. Fred is the Broker for the real estate firm Woodyard & Associates, Commercial Realtors LLC. Fred was the administrator of the City of Fort Myers STARS program from 1991-1994 working with the Lee County School Board, local law enforcement and thirty-three different youth groups to identify at risk children.

Fred has been a youth baseball coach since 1979. He was first appointed as the District Administrator for Little League Baseball in 1987, retiring in 2019.  During that time, his baseball district included all of Charlotte County and part of Lee County, including the cities of Cape Coral and Fort Myers. Fred was a member of the coaching staff for baseball at Bishop Verot High School from 2000-2016.

Fred is currently one of the Commissioners of the Community Redevelopment Agency for the City of Fort Myers. He is also on the executive board for the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and is a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).  Additionally, he also serves on the board of the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership which encompasses several estuary watersheds; Dona and Roberts Bay, Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor including Myakka and Peace River Basins, Pine Island Sound including the Caloosahatchee River Basin to Lake Okeechobee and Estero Bay.

Councilman Burson has 4 children and 8 grandchildren who are all residents of Lee County.