Commissioner John Shoemaker was elected to the office of Commissioner in March 2020.

John and Paula grew up in the Boston area and have two children and five grandchildren. Their son, Eric, lives in the Boston area, and their daughter, Lisa, in the Miami area. Having been an owner of a unit at the Highland Beach Club Condominium and snowbirds for 16 years, they sold their main home in the Boston area and moved permanently to Florida.

They purchased their new home at the Clarendon in March 2022 and love the location, beach, and beauty of the town. They believe it is a safe harbor in the land of paradise.

John graduated with a BBS in Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, before enlisting in the Army. He completed infantry training and graduated from Airborne School and Officer Candidate School before going to advanced jungle training in the Panama Canal Zone. Lieutenant Shoemaker went to Vietnam and became a combat Platoon Leader and Company Commander in the 196th Light Infantry Brigade of the “Americal” Division in Chu Lai.

He was awarded 3 Bronze Stars, including 2 for Valor, the Air Medal, 2 Army Commendation medals, including one for Valor, and the Purple Heart.

Returning from Vietnam, he was in the Army Reserve, completed his MBA from Suffolk University in Boston, and worked for Xerox Corporation as a sales and marketing executive. After 12 years, John went on to become a senior executive at VP/EVP/President levels in several high technology companies, including BBN Cambridge, Symbol Technologies, and Transcore, Inc.

Much of his career included sales, marketing, customer service, and engineering support for such technologies as advanced manufacturing and robotics, computer software applications, data collection and solutions, barcoding, and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. John has been a technology evangelist, consultant, and speaker at events around the world.

During a 45-year career in high technology involving software solutions, hardware, and large, multi-million-dollar system integration projects, John became a consultant, syndicated newspaper columnist, and publisher with dozens of articles and contributions to books about Vietnam and RFID technology. He has visited over 43 countries during his career. He retired in 2016.

John’s experience includes being a member of the Board of Directors of a 200-unit condo for several years. He then wanted to give back to the community to support an effective team, the Town Commission, to ensure stable government, with financial prudence, focused on town needs and improvements, and to enhance security and safety for all residents. He satisfied a comprehensive background check by the Police Department and then won the election in 2020 to be a commissioner, one of five commissioners on the Town’s Dias.

In that role, John is directly involved in most town strategic decisions affecting all departments: Police, Building, Public Works: Sewer & Water, Highway, and Town Management. With a $20 Million budget, commissioners review all major contracts, create various ordinances, develop and approve the budget and tax/millage rates, support the library, and established the town building certification program after the tragedy at Surfside, FL.
John supported the climatic decision made by the Commission to end the town’s 30-year contract with Delray Beach and to establish their independent Fire and EMS capability. A referendum was conducted asking the voters for $10 Million and it was approved. They then obtained final approval in September 2022, with County and Organizational support from Unions, County Commissioners, and other officials. They are now going forward with hiring personnel, constructing a new firehouse, and acquisition of vehicles and equipment.

One specific activity to note is the creation of a Veteran’s page on the town website (under the Community tab). John wanted to bring recognition to the “Heroes of Highland Beach” who conducts interviews with military veterans and writes articles to tell their stories for memorializing on the website.

This is available by clicking on this link: https://highlandbeach.us/veteranheroes/