Bayard Sharp A patriarch of the du Pont family, he owned, amongst a million other things, the Gasparilla Inn, where I started as a bartender and ended up a managing director and owning 5 percent. He was a guiding point in life. He was generous with his ability to give back to the community, which helped make me want to do that. They were in a different socioeconomic state, but because of that they allowed me time to spend time on numerous boards.

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) They reach so many families from so many different walks of life, whether it’s providing services for parents, veterans or the homeless. That’s why I got involved. They have touched so many aspects of the lives in the community.

Chef Alfonse Weischhorster He was a chef at a hotel I ran for years. He came over here as an immigrant to be a baker’s apprentice in New York and became a phenomenal master chef. I was inspired by his work ethic, focus and passion for food. The current chef at Libby’s was actually trained by Chef Alfonse.

Southeast Asia I traveled a great deal to Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and a couple years in China. It really influenced my life. I started as a tourist, then did nonprofit work for the Women’s Center in Myanmar. It was fundamentally so different, the contrast of wealth and of the values of family. It’s all so dramatically different than in the United States, it gave me an appreciation for things here and there, and how different values can be, but people can still be very much alike.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez I just finished his series of short stories Strange Pilgrims. I have read a lot of his stuff through the years. I love his language. Even though it is translated from Spanish, it is still some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever read.

Jerzy Kosinski Another of my favorite authors. It’s so dark I should leave it at that. He was from Romania and was a hard scrabble kind of a guy. He wrote real deep emotional novels like The Devil Tree and Being There.

Working With Family I love the challenge of running a business, and working with my kids is great. We’ve always just been incredibly close. You truly work differently with family than you would with a business partner, and you can say and do things you wouldn’t normally do.

Golden Spoon We’re proud of all the different acclamations the restaurant has earned, but we’re really proud of the Florida Trend Golden Spoon. It was unsolicited votes. We got named “Best New Restaurant”by the magazine for both Libby’s and Louies. The Golden Spoon was for Libby’s excellence in food and innovation.

Health and Human Services I donate to a lot of nonprofits. It’s an important aspect to what I do. We have a fund with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Phil Fund. Ithink it’s important to give back. I will donate to All Faiths Food Bank, Embracing our Differences, JFCS, Habitat for Humanity—primarily health and human services charities. That’s a value we have as a family. It’s important to give to those less fortunate, to give an opportunity and a safety net. SRQ