Commissioners choose Vero resident Polackwich to replace county attorney

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Thirty-some-year Vero Beach resident Alan Polackwich will replace County Attorney Will Collins when Collins retires this March.

The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved Polackwich for the job – a post that will pay $175,000 total, including salary and benefits.

Polackwich beat out Assistant County Administrator Michael Zito and former Pinellas County Assistant County Attorney Thomas Spencer for the position. Now that Polackwich has been selected, he and representatives from the county will negotiate his employment package. An agreement is expected to be brought back to commissioners at the Jan. 19 board meeting.

Polackwich has spent the last 33 years practicing law, primarily in commercial and public law, according to his resume. He has also served as an attorney for the Indian River County Hospital District for 18 years.

Polackwich has also been the chairman of the Indian River County Environmental Control Hearing Board for 24 years and has been involved with United Way, the Exchange Club of Vero Beach and the Gifford Youth Activity Center.

He has also carried the Olympic Torch and is the 1999 Citizen of the Year, a title he shares with his wife, Deborah.

It was his community involvement that seemed to impress members of the Board of County Commissioners, as Wesley Davis, Gary Wheeler and Joe Flescher all mentioned Polackwich’s involvement.

Another seeming plus for Polackwich included his experience in financial institutions having been the general counsel for Riverside National Bank.

On his application, Polackwich listed Circuit Court judges Paul Kanarek and David Morgan as personal references. He also gave his interests, which include auto racing, flying and golf.

He has owned and raced Formula 2000 in SCCA national and regional competitions, he wrote in his application, and has his private pilot’s license. He owns and flies an Express experimental airplane.

Polackwich is a member of the Vero Beach Country Club and golfs with an 8 handicap.

He attended Boston College Law School and was the executive editor of the Boston College Law Review.

Polackwich is married to Deborah Morrell Polackwich and has two children, Jessica, a professor at the University of Richmond Law School, and Scott, a physician resident in the urology surgery program at Oregon Health and Science University.

Along with being tapped to carry the Olympic Torch in 1996 and being named Indian River County Citizen of the Year with his wife in 1999, Polackwich has also received the Ralph King Award for long-term service to United Way and the Alma Lee Loy Award for long-term service to the community.

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